


Doki Doki Operator Club

by BestBugMatt



Series: Doki Doki Operator Club [1]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), Warframe
Genre: Crossover, We're in it lads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:56:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestBugMatt/pseuds/BestBugMatt
Summary: Through a means unknown to the girls, the Literature Club inexplicably finds themselves in a strange new world, one much larger and more dangerous than theirs. Now Tenno Operators, will the girls be able to master their Warframes and find a way home? What even IS home for these girls?





	1. New Game Plus

**Author's Note:**

> This is just...me, doing this crossover thing I've had in my head for a hot second. Takes place after DDLC proper and has spoilers for both games. I had posted a few chapters elsewhere in the beginning and its my first time actually writing so the first few might be a bit short.
> 
> Warnings for Big Violence (warframe is a gorey game) and references to subjects dealt with in DDLC such as suicide, self harm, depression, etc. (though nowhere near as intense as they were in DDLC proper, nor will they be glorified here)

_It began the same way it always had._

_She felt like she was falling into nothing, the structure and form of her world dissolving again into harsh noise and blinding, meaningless colors._

_It was different this time, though. She felt it the first time when her file had been ripped from the folder, like someone had taken her outline and tore it from her body, and she felt herself falling apart just as the world around her did. Soon even the colors and shapes and noise began to disappear, the games assets slowly being deleted as she descended. This would be the last time. The flashing colors eventually faded to white and the harsh noise melded into one dull, softening buzz._

_This was it. The end of everything._

But then…Monika woke up.

She gasped, taking in a breath of air she never thought she would ever take, her eyes struggling to take in the sight around her. She seemed to by laying on a hard surface floor, looking up at the ceiling. She laid there for a while, unable to register all the strange lights and machinery whirring above her. Catching her breath, she slowly sat up. 

Her surroundings only confused her further. Lights and shapes of all sorts, all having a sort of uniform smooth and round design. In front of where she sat was what looked like a table or bench with a mechanical arm hanging just above it, along with rows of strange cubes of light in between the bench and arm.

Monika stared at the cubes for a bit, mesmerized by how foreign the thing was. This was definitely not the Literature Club. 

_“Where…?”_  She wondered.  _“Where am I? What is this? Is this…is this even the same game?”_ Monika reached out, trying to see if she could still manipulate game code like she could before. To her surprise, nothing came. Her memories of what happened before remained, but she couldn’t alter anything anymore. She took in another deep breath, trying to calm herself. She stood up, taking in her surroundings again. All around her where machines she couldn’t recognize simply by looking at them. To her right at the of the room where two ramps leading further into…whatever this place was, and to her left was another ramp, this time leading upwards. 

She peered up the left ramp to see what looked to be…a window? From what she could see it looked like it was the night sky…she heard voices as well, coming through what sounded like a rather scratchy intercom or radio. She slowly stepped up the ramp. As she entered the room, her eyes widened. 

 

The view through the window didn’t contain the night sky like she had thought. What the window showed her was Earth, with space yawning out infinitely in all directions. She didnt know what to make of it. Not only did she not know WHERE she ended up, but she had no idea when either. After a few moments, she forced herself to turn away. She had to figure out what was going on. 

She turned to the source of the noise she heard earlier. A ring of red light that shook as a gravelly voice shouted words she didn’t understand. Tenno? Grineer? Unable to think with the noise the radio produced, Monika began to look for an off switch. As she got closer, a prompt flashed just below her hand. 

“Scanner off?” 

Monika squinted quizzically. All this strange technology, and yet everything was still in perfect English? Was this another game? It had to have been…

But if that was the case, where were the other girls? Were her friends out there somewhere? Again her thoughts started overwhelming her. This was all so much…

 

“Hellooo?” A soft voice rang out, deeper in the ship. Monika, snapping back to reality, pressed the symbol on the console. Then as the red ring of light dissipated she began running down the ramp and through the ships midsection again, towards the voice. As she made it halfway down the ramp, a figure suddenly stepped out from the corner. Light brown hair, a red bow, and crystal blue eyes…

 

“Sayo-OOF” Monika could barely call out the vice presidents name before accidentally colliding with her, both of them tumbling onto the smooth floor of the ship. Monika recovered first, standing up and shaking off the impact. Sayori, still dazed, shook her head. 

“Ooowww…That hurt!” Sayori whined. From just looking at her, Sayori didn’t look too badly hurt. Monika held out her hand to help Sayori up. “Monika…” Sayori looked confused. “Do you…know where we are?” Monika sighed and shook her head. “I have no idea…”  Sayori frowned. “So we don’t know where we are…but if we’re here, then Yuri and Natsuki must be nearby too!” Monika wasn’t entirely sure that logic was sound, but she nodded regardless. At least someone had a more positive outlook on the situation.

 

Sayori pointed to the door behind Monika, rightmost from the ramps. “We should probably check these rooms down here first, right?” They both approach the door. As they get closer, they swear they can hear movement coupled with hushed but frantic tones of voice. Someone was definitely in there. 

Sayori took the lead and the doorpanels shifted open before her. As it did, she called out;

 

“Yuri? Natsuki?"


	2. Okay Everyone!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang reunites, though tension and distrust towards Monika still linger. Sayori and Monika work to figure out where the girls have ended up, while Natsuki and Yuri investigate the inner workings of the Orbiter.

Yuri had awakened with a violent start. One moment she had decided to go to the local bookstore with Natsuki then…nothing. And suddenly she existed again, in a strange room unlike she had ever seen before, head swimming with foreign memories of horrible things. Instinctively her hands went to her side and chest, feeling for wounds, only to find nothing. Still uneasy, she propped herself up onto the living quarters ‘table’, only to jump slightly as she noticed the other figure in the room with her, turned facing out the window.

 

She was short, with pink hair and red ribbons strewn about. Small in stature but carrying an aura of defiance in every ounce of her being, there was no mistaking who this person was. Slowly, Yuri moved to stand beside Natsuki and take in the view as well. As she approached, Natsuki turned to face her. “’Bout time you woke up…” she smiled a little. “Was getting boring just waiting around for you…” Yuri shifted uncomfortably. The things she did and said to her… “Natsuki…” She began fiddling with a strand of her long hair as her anxiety started to take over. “I-I need to apologize…for what I said to you back there. I wasnt-” Natsuki cut her off, shaking her head. “You don’t need to do that, Yuri. We both said some pretty mean stuff to each other. I know it wasn’t your fault.” Yuri looked out into the void of space again, trying not to meet the small girls gaze. She still felt guilty.

 

A moment passed in silence before Natuski spoke again. “Were you having nightmares?” Yuri looked startled by the sudden break in silence. “Wh-I…I mean…I was just in shock, coming back into reality like that, you know? Its a horrible thing to experience…” Yuri refused to look at Natsuki. The pink-haired girl sighed. “You’re a terrible liar Yuri, Honestly. You were tossing and turning and everything. I mean, I wasnt…worried about you or anything like that but…” Natsuki balled her fists, struggling somewhat to get the next few words out. “If it makes you feel any better…you’re…not the only one who had nightmares.”

 

It was Natsuki’s turn to avoid Yuri’s gaze. Her fidgeting slowed somewhat. Another pause. “Where do you think we are?” Yuri asked as she peered out the window again. In the corner she thought she could see a planet, but she couldnt quite tell if it was earth or another planet in the solar system, or even a real planet altogether. “Real…” she thought to herself. “What is ‘real’ anymore?” Natsuki had a more direct answer. “We’re obviously in space,” She gestured at the window. “Other than that I have no idea. We’re probably a long way from the literature club though, and that’s fine with me.”

 

Natsuki looked down at herself, inspecting her strange uniform. She never remembered putting it on… “Wherever we are the people here obviously have really weird fashion sense. Is this a jumpsuit or something? They could have at least made it look a little cuter instead of this boring grey thing. Bleugh.” Yuri giggled at that. Despite everything that happened, and how strange and scary their current situation, Natsuki was still able to find something to complain about. Yuri’s fidgeting finally stopped, and she managed to find her train of thought again. “Do you think the others…do you think they made it here too?” Natsuki shrugged. “Honestly, I dunno. I hope Sayori made it okay but…” she scowled. “…as for Monika–”

 

A hissing came from the door behind them, accompanied by a familiar voice. “Yuri? Natsuki?” In the doorway stood Sayori, whose concerned expression turned into a beaming ray of sunshine as the two girls turned to meet her gaze. Sayori instinctively rushed down to Yuri and Natsuki and gave them a huge hug. “I was so worried about you guys!” Yuri was startled by the sudden movement, while Natsuki pouted and halfheartedly tried to pull herself from Sayoris arms. “I get it I get it, gosh…” She obviously didn’t want to admit it, but she was glad Sayori was okay.

 

Monika, who had stayed behind Sayori, finally entered the room. Yuri and Natsuki met her gaze as Sayori pulled away, They said nothing, but their expressions told Monika everything she needed to know. Natsuki had her arms crossed, eyes reading as hurt and wary. Yuri, in contrast, was much more reserved, even by usual Yuri standards. Instead of polite and quiet she came off as cold. Sayori, looking back and forth between the three, decided to speak up and break the tension,

 

“Soo…Now that we’re all here, Monika, what do you think we should do now? We don’t–” Natsuki practically laughed in disbelief. “Sayori are you serious? Why are you asking HER? After all she did, do you really think she should be the one telling US what to do?” Yuri nodded in agreement. Sayori frowned. “Guys, I know what Monika did was terrible…we’re gonna talk about that for sure. But right now we don’t have any clue where we are! Are we even safe out here? where can we find food?” Sayori pauses, pondering. “What kinda food do they have in space, anyways…?” Shaking her head Sayori regains her train of thought. “My point is, we need to figure out whats going on here first.”

 

Sayori turned back to Monika. “Monika, you saw what was upstairs, right? Was there anything up there that could tell us what the heck is going on?” Monika thought for a moment, but shrugged. “I didn’t get the chance to look at everything. I’d have to go back up there and check it out.” Sayori nods. “I’ll go with you then!” Monika glances back to Yuri and Natsuki. “There’s probably some things in the main room you two can look at too…let us know if something happens though, okay?” Natsuki, arms still crossed, huffs and mutters a “Fine…” as she stomps out of the room, Yuri close behind.

 

Monika sighs. Sayori trots over to her, putting a hand on Monika’s shoulder. “Lets go figure this out, okay?” Monika nodded, still uneasy. She knew she didn’t deserve the kindness Sayori was giving her, but she was grateful. They both stepped out of what looked to be the living quarters, and returned to the room with the large window. “When I started poking around up here I noticed that even though everything looks super advanced, the displays all have perfect English. So, if we get close to one, it SHOULD give us an idea of what it does.” Sayori glanced around the room. So many consoles… “I’ll start on one side and you get the other, okay?” The girls both nodded and got to work.

 

Sayori went to the desk at the right of the room. A display flickered on and flipped through multiple images. It looked like a…catalog? Was this a store? She couldn’t understand what it was they were selling if that was the case. She moved on, having even less luck with the next console. “Conclave…?” Again, she didnt understand. “Monika, I hope you’re having better luck over there, because this stuff isn’t making much sense to me.” Monika was distracted, pouring over a console that had labeled itself as ‘Codex’. A bit bored, Sayori decided to check out the panel in the front of the room. ‘Starchart’, it read. Curious, Sayori pressed the flashing prompt, and the room was suddenly engulfed in stars.

 

Meanwhile, Yuri and Natsuki were having just as much luck trying to figure out the ships contraptions as Sayori was. Yuri activated the machine calling itself the forge, only to be bombarded with prompts and displays she had no idea what to do with. After a few failed attempts to decipher the mess, she gave up and stood next to Natsuki, who was impatiently fiddling with the machine between the two ramps. “Its called…the arsenal, or whatever. But I cant get it…to friggin…WORK!” Frustrated, she kicked it, which only hurt her foot. Yuri sighed, giving the Arsenal a look. Another prompt flashed on, and Yuri pressed it. Another set of screen options appeared, but these weren’t nearly as the forge’s were. “…Choose frame? Primary weapon?” Yuri read aloud the list of options. Natsuki scrambled over to Yuri’s side, not wanting to miss…whatever was about to happen. “Well?” Natsuki asked. “You gonna see what ‘choose frame’ means?” Yuri frowned. She didnt want to rush this, but both her and Natsuki’s curiosity was becoming overwhelming. She pressed the ‘choose frame’ prompt.

 

The screen shifted, and they were greeted by a list of strange-looking…things. Were these the ‘frames’? Their names were odd too…Ash, Ember, Frost, Rhino… “What ARE these things?” Yuri thought out loud. She didn’t know what selecting one would do. “These look like some sort of…suit or costume…hmn…” Natsuki however was much less patient. Reaching past Yuri, she pressed the closest option she could reach. “Rhino!” As soon as she touched it, a massive figure appeared before them. Both of them shouted in surprise as the hulking entity popped into existence.

 

“N-Natsuki!” Yuri turned to scold her pink-haired friend. “W-what are you doing?! We don’t know what any of this machinery even does!” Natsuki crossed her arms and shrugged. “Well, we had to do SOMETHING, right?” Yuri took a second to control her breathing. She was too stressed out to deal with another scare like that today. She looked back at the console. “Rhino…” The figure before them, apparently called Rhino, was motionless. Yuri tapped through more of the options. “Weapons…why would we need weapons?” Natsuki studied the Rhino further. “Maybe its like…we put our ‘frame’ together and have it fight other frames? I hope that’s what it is! That sounds so cool!”

 

Yuri was started to feel exasperated, but didn’t really have a better explanation. She selected a random assortment of gear and one by one they popped into existence on the Rhinos body. A Braton rifle, a Lato pistol, and a strange looking sword called a ‘Skana’. Yuri marveled at the blade, its craftsmanship and design unlike any she had ever seen before. “Lookin’ good so far, Yuri! I wonder if we can change its colors though…this brown color just looks really gross.” Natsuki managed to bring Yuri back down to earth…figuratively speaking. “Well…I suppose that would be alright…” The sudden appearance of firearms on the beastly ‘frame’ was starting to make Yuri feel more apprehensive about poking and prodding at the console. Fortunately for Yuri and her nerves, Sayori’s voice called out from the upper room behind them.

 

“Hey guys? You should…probably come out here and check this out.”


	3. Dreams of Love and Transference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls decide to investigate the Rhino warframe further, but Natsuki gets way in over her head.
> 
> Additional note: [when the girls are in warframes, they are able to communicate telepathically through Transference. This is represented by speaking inside brackets.]

Natsuki called back up to Sayori. “Can it wait a sec? Im trying to turn this big guy pink!” 

Confused chatter came from up beyond the ramp before Sayori called down again. “Seriously, guys! We found something really neat!” Natsuki looked back to Yuri, who motioned to the ramp. “We…we should probably go and see what they discovered up there…” Natsuki huffed, and closed the display. “Fiiiine, we’ll go. But I’m going to make this thing look way cuter later, and there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me!” Yuri silently smiled and nodded as they both made their way up the ramp. As both of them stepped into the nav room, they gasped.

 

The console at the front of the room was projecting what looked like a map of the solar system. It engulfed the entire room, showing off the planets and their orbit an immaculate detail. It was breathtaking. Sayori grinned as she splayed her arms out. “See? I told ya it was neat!” Pluto passed right through her beaming face. Yuri didn’t respond, again lost in thought as she took in the wonderfully crafted map display. Monika was more focused on trying to understand the map. The projection of Mercury floated closer to her, blocking her view from where she stood. She swatted at it with her hand, trying to shoo it away, but Mercury proceeded to consume most of the projection instead, startling everyone else. “Hey!” Natsuki was the first to complain. “Give us a warning before you start messing with things,  _president_.” Monika sighed, still focused on figuring out the map. “Sorry, sorry…” More information she didn’t know how to parse. The planet became covered in a series of select-able nodes, each with their own name. One of them was different from the others though, a small structure orbiting the planet called the ‘Larunda relay’… 

 

“It looks like a space station of some sort…” Yuri thought aloud, her hands playing with a long strand of her hair out of habit. “…perhaps we could find someone there who could tell us more?” Natsuki crossed her arms, shaking her head. “Why would anyone be willing to help us out? There could be tons of creeps on that station…” Monika looked to Sayori for her input, but she simply shrugged. Sighing, Monika turned to address Natsuki. “We don’t have really have any other options. We have to start somewhere, and here seems like our best bet.” She waited a second for any objections, but none came. She pressed the prompt, only to be greeted with an error. ‘ERROR: EQUIP WARFRAME’ was plastered over the map. 

 

“Equip Warframe?” Natsuki read the error aloud. “Thats the big guy that poofed into the back room, right Yuri?” The tall purple-haired introvert nodded. “Yes…the Rhino looked like it was one of the many, uh…’Warframes’ stored inside this ship.” Natsuki grinned deviously. “Well looks like you guys get to meet my new friend after all~” As she marched down the ramp into the main compartment, Sayori followed, Monika and Yuri bringing up the rear. Natsuki was already messing with the Arsenal display by the time everyone had filtered in, flipping through the color selection screen. in a flash, Natsuki had changed the dull brown color scheme of the Rhinos Shell started to become something closer to a rose gold. “There!” Natsuki exclaimed. “Now it looks way cuter!” 

 

“Woooooah!” Sayori was amazed, looking over the giant beefy creature. “This thing looks so cool! What…is it?” Natsuki crossed her arms again, looking as if she were an expert on the subject. “This is a Rhino! Apparently its one of the ‘warframe’ thingies the map was talking about. We just need to put it on before we can go to the relay…” Natsuki paced around the Rhino, looking for some way to put it on. “It doesn’t have a zipper, hmn…” Its posture and subtle movements made it almost look like it was a living, breathing creature, which definitely unsettled Natsuki…not that she would let the others know that, of course. Each of the other girls watched Natsuki grow more and more frustrated with the Rhino. 

 

“Stupid…thing…” She mumbled. She tried poking its midsection. Nothing. Snapping, clapping, anything. The Rhino refused to respond. Yuri raised her hand, about to make a suggestion, but decided against it. Monika wore a blank stare, looking rather tired, while Sayori sat patiently with a confused smile. “What if you tr–” Natsuki cut off Sayori before she could finish. “I know what I’m doing!” That was a lie nobody had trouble seeing through though, and Natsuki knew it. At her wits end, she tried to shove the beast over…only to find that her both hands, upon contact, sunk into the rhinos midsection instead. Before she could cry out, the rest of her fell into the Rhino in a flash of pink energy. 

 

Yuri gasped, unable to process what happened as her good friend suddenly vanished into the beastly thing before her. Monika was surprised too, her concern for her other clubmate breaking her usually composed demeanor. Sayori was horrified. She wasn't about to let this thing take her friend so soon after they had all reunited. “Wh- where did Natsuki go?!” She rushed over to the Rhino, small hands beating on its armored hide. “Give her back, you meanie!” As if in response, the rhino lurched backward, bracing itself against the framing of the arsenal panel. Sayori stepped back instinctively as the beast before the three suddenly surged to life. 

 

It stumbled forward, as if it were just learning how to walk. Holding up its hands to look at them, as if seeing them for the first time, and lurched forward to the three remaining girls. “S-stay back!” Yuri shouted as Monika placed herself in front of both her and Sayori. The beast halted, and a voice entered their minds. It was Natsuki’s. 

 

_[Guys? I think I figured out how to put the warframe thingy on!]_ The three girls stared in silent shock for a good minute, before the Rhino started turning, looking at its surroundings.  _“[t’s so weeeeeird not to be the shortest one anymore…I like it! Everybody’s gonna take me seriously now!]_  The posture of the Rhino loosened, and it crossed its arms, imitating Natsuki’s mannerisms. _[Told you I knew what I was doing! I’m a pro, after all!]_   Yuri was still anxious, making sure to keep her distance. “A-are…Are you okay in there Natsuki?” Natsuki nodded. _[It feels like…my body, but not, if that makes sense? Its not like a costume for sure.]_  Yuri nodded. It made sense to her, in a way…but something else was bothering her more. “Can you get out of that…thing? I don’t like the idea of you being stuck in there…” Natsuki scoffed, or at least motioned in a way that looked like she was scoffing. It was honestly hard to tell. 

 

_[And Whyyyyy would I wanna do that? Maybe I like being the tallest and the strongest! Why would I wanna go back to being normal?]_ Natsuki flexed to emphasize. Monika smirked. “Does that thing even have a mouth?” She asked. The Rhino froze for a moment, before its hands darted to its face. _[Wh-wha…]_  its fingers trying to find anything resembling a mouth. “You can’t eat any sweets without a mouth. I guess that’s one reason why you’d want to get back to normal~” Once again frustrated, Natsuki stomped her foot. This stomp was considerably stronger than usual, shaking the entire room. Sayori waved her arms in a panic. “H-hey! We probably shouldn’t be so rowdy in the space ship! I don’t wanna break it on accident!” Monika nodded. “We should figure out whats going on at the Relay, and hopefully figure out a way for Natsuki to get out of the Rhino…” She pointed back up the ramp to the Nav room. “Natsuki, do you think you can find out whats going on down there alone? I dont want to get the rest of us stuck in these Warframes if we can help it…”

 

Yuri nervously glanced back up the ramp, then to Natsuki. “I-I dont like the idea of her going out by herself…is it possible to send someone with her? Without a warframe?” Monika thought for a moment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Yuri continued to press the issue. “But who knows whats down there? How will she be able to communicate our situation? How do we know if the people or things she finds there will be trustworthy? There are too many possibilities…” Monika nodded, patiently waiting for Yuri to make her case. She was always the most cautious… “I understand your point, Yuri. But it doesn’t look like we can go down there without a Warframe. Since Natsuki is already in one, for better or worse, she’s the most prepared to face whatever’s waiting for her there. Does that make sense?” Yuri fiddled wit her hair some more, lost in thought, before she finally relented.  “I-I suppose we don’t have much choice…do we?” Monika smiled sympathetically. “She’s gonna be okay. She can handle it, right Natsuki?”

 

_[Of course I can! Like I said, I’m a PRO!]_  The rhino cracked its knuckles. It was an uncomfortably heavy and crunchy sound that caused Sayori to make a grossed-out face. “Pleeeeease don’t do that again…” she asked, giving Natsuki a forced smile. The Rhino nodded awkwardly before stepping up to the nav room ramp. Yuri stopped Natsuki for a moment. “Make sure you come back safe, okay? Please?” Natsuki glanced down at Yuri. _‘Down…’_ she thought. _ ****‘Its so weird to be the taller one…and Yuri being worried about me feels weird too…h-huh…’_ The rhino looked away. _[Of course I’ll come back safe! Sheesh, its like you think I’m gonna fall flat on my face or something…]_ Yuri shook her head. “T-that wasn’t what I meant at all, I have faith in you…I-I just…” Yuri turned away as well. Natsuki proceeded up the stairs, thanking her past self for making the beast pink before accidentally merging with it, otherwise Yuri would’ve seen how red her face was. Wait, could this thing even blush? Probably not…another bonus to keep in mind. 

 

Natsuki managed to maintain her confident stride to the map once more. Like Monika did earlier, she tapped on the icon for the Relay. A countdown appeared in the top left corner of the map, locking in her destination. [ _Hope this works…]_ She felt the ship move. Natsuki didn’t actually know how long it would take to get to mercury, so she leaned against the desk to the left of her and waited, watching the starscape shift. 

 

Next stop, Larunda Relay.


	4. Relay Relations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuki attempts to investigate the Larunda Relay, and meets a rather strange individual.

The arrival came sooner than expected. Natsuki didnt want to admit it, but even she felt nervous, despite all her big talk to Yuri moments before. She could put on a good face when she needed to around strangers (if people could still see it…) but this was a lot more complicated than putting on a facade. First contact…Natsuki shook her head. She was thinking about this too much. All she needed to do was get on the relay, find someone who knew what was up, and kick some ass if she needed to. She balled up her fists. It felt…good to look more intimidating. People would think twice about shortchanging her now. The ship lurched again, and a message appeared over the front console that read [BOARD LANDING CRAFT]. Natsuki heard the sound of hissing air as the very center of the nav room rose up, exposing a cylinder with a body-shaped groove to lay in. 

 

The Rhino tilted her head. This was already starting to give her some bad vibes…If Yuri were seeing this she’d probably compare it to laying in a grave or something…Natsuki thought about Yuri’s expression from before, full of genuine concern…was she really that worried about her? Did she end up remembering the poem she wrote before…? Natsuki shook her head. She was fine. This job was gonna go fine. She’d show Yuri she’s capable of handling anything that gets thrown at her. Absolutely, totally, no doubt about it. With renewed resolve she climbed in, and the floor sealed back up. It was dark, and for a brief moment she began to worry, but a sudden jolt of movement and a loud CLUNK sound from the landing crafting decoupling kept her from thinking too much as she made her way to the relay. 

 

Before she could find her train of thought, the craft came to a halt. Natsuki barely had time to adjust to the shift of gravity before the pod she was began to move, rotating slowly to reveal what looked like a dock. Cautiously, she stepped from the groove and took in her surroundings. Ahead of her was someone working a terminal. Next to them was what seemed to be a guard. Maybe they could help Natsuki figure out her way around the place… Psyching herself up, she walked confidently over to the guards.  _“Hello? This is the relay, right? Is there anyone around here I can ask some questions? Me and my friends are lost…”_ The guards didn’t respond. _“Did you guys hear me?”_ Again, they didn’t answer. She crossed her arms. So much for being taken more seriously… As if on cue, the guard working the terminal looked up, and audibly gasped, as if they were startled by Natsuki looming over them.  _‘Guess they didnt hear me…thats gonna be a problem, huh? What a pain._ ’ 

 

The guard cleared their throat and spoke up. “Uuh…welcome to the Larunda relay, Tenno. The relay proper is just past the checkpoint. Keep your weapons holstered at all times and we won’t have any trouble, yeah?” Natsuki nodded, giving the guard a thumbs up before continuing down the walkway. She heard them whisper as she moved on. “Did you see that ones color scheme?” a guard remarked. “Yeeeah, it was kinda goofy, but I’ve seen way more garish ones before.” the second replied. Balling her fists again Natsuki pressed forward through the checkpoint. She would normally call someone out for talking smack about her aesthetic choices, but she couldn’t really say much of anything in her current state. Smacking them around would probably be trouble too…

 

As Natsuki made it to the relay proper and was greeted with a gorgeous view of a small pound, complete with a stone statue of the warframe she was stuck in. Clusters of other people were milling about, chatting. Each of them clad in a strikingly colored jumpsuit and helmet.  _“Maybe I could ask one of these guys about this place…”_  Natsuki wondered. “You’re new here, huh?” A voice called out from the left of the door she entered through, startling her. “Pf, never seen a Rhino jump quite like that.” It was a man clad in a dull red suit. Natsuki crossed her arms, silently staring the man down. He imitated her, which only irritated Natsuki more. “Names Zerv, by the way. Red Veil initiate. The Relays are where we syndicates gather to recruit Tenno to our cause. We don't get along most of the time, but we manage to keep it civil here. Hope you end up stopping by…we could use some more Tenno might to back us up.” 

 

Natsuki nodded, but in reality she had even more questions than she did before. Syndicates? Red Veil? Honestly, she just needed to figure out where she and her friends were and how to get out of a warframe, not be dragged into some weird space debate club. Monika could deal with that. Natsuki walked on, passing through another small group of Veil members. Across the plaza she came to a hallway spanning to her left and right. Symbols adorned the doors through each section.  _“Hmmn…those are probably the syndicate rooms…”_  The rhino shook her head.  _“Why did it have to get so complicated? Ugh…”_  Beyond the hallway was a set of two more doors. The one that caught her eye had another symbol on it. She sighed, internally at least. “ _I guess I might have to give these guys a look after all…_ ” She stepped inside, and was taken aback by the change in scenery.

 

The clean metallic floor gave way to…snow? The metal went a few feet further before becoming a snowed-over stone staircase, it almost looked like…a mountain? In a space station?! At the top stood a lone man, gazing down on her. _“An old guy at the mountain top? Seriously?”_  The man spoke down to her. “Tenno, have you come to me to hone your skill in the fires of my Conclave?” Natsuki froze in disbelief. This couldn’t have been real. It was too much. She almost considered leaving, but figured that everyone also around here would have probably been equally ridiculous. If the Rhino had any eyes, they would absolutely have been rolling at that point. Natsuki reluctantly walked to the top of the mountain to get some answers. She was already tired of the Relay and she couldn’t have been there for more than ten minutes…Finally at the top, Natsuki got a better look at the man who spoke to her.  _“Is he…Is he supposed to be a samurai?”_  The man spoke to her again. “Tenno, I am Teshin. I am dedicated to seeing you forge yourself stronger to prepare for the dangerous trials that lie ahead.” 

 

Natsuki shook her head. She knew she couldn’t talk out loud to him, which was frustrating…she had enough trouble communicating as it is. Instead, she tried to mime it out. She gestured to herself, then she held her hand at about what she thought her height was before this whole ordeal started, around the top of the Rhinos thigh. Teshin stood silently. It was difficult to tell if he understood or not with that helmet on… Natsuki repeated the motion again, then pointed back to her as the Rhino. She tried to make an unzipping motion and crossed her arms in an X and hoped this samurai wannabe understood what she was getting at. To her relief, Teshin finally responded. “So, you are aware that this body is not your own, yet you are unable to disconnect yourself from it?” Natsuki nodded.  _“This guy talks like a character straight out one of Yuri’s novels…”_  she thought. 

 

Teshin folded his arms. “The answer is well within your grasp, Tenno. If you are aware that you are in a state of Transference, all you simply need to do is will yourself free of your bonds.” The rhino’s shoulders drooped. Of course. Of COURSE it was that easy. Caught between feeling supremely annoyed and relieved, Natsuki tried to focus. Up until now her senses felt…surreal. Everything as real as if she herself was experiencing it, but at the same time it all felt…duller. As if she were in an incredibly vivid dream. Going on what Teshin told her, she suddenly felt like she was sinking. The world started to slowly go dark…

 

And then, out came Natsuki, her feet stepping into the snow of Teshins sanctuary. She gasped for air, taking in her first breath since she melded with the Warframe a few hours ago. Teshin nodded, smirking. “Smaller than I expected…” Natsuki was quick to fire back. “EXCUSE me? I’m not the one trying to look all badass by posing at the top of a fake mountain in a goofy costume…honestly, who are you trying to impress?” Teshin ignored her dig at his sanctuary, which only irritated Natsuki further. “Tell me, young one, how is it that you come here to me able to harness the power of transference, yet your warframe still looks fresh off the Nano-foundry? The only Tenno I have met with that kind of knowledge are hardened veterans…long-time disicples of the Tenno ways.” Natsuki struggled to come up with a solid answer, but she truly just didn’t know. “I’m…” she looked away. “I’m not sure, okay?! One day me and my friends were all in our club together and…things…fell apart. Everything got fuzzy, and we came to on a weird space ship. Then I got stuck in that THING, and now I’m here. I don’t know anything about this place, this world, you, warframes, Tenno, ANYTHING. I DON’T…KNOW.” Natsuki pinched the bridge of her nose, worn out from the shouting and from the emotional roller-coaster that had been…hours? Days? She didn’t know anymore. 

 

Teshin silently mulled over what Natsuki had told him. Natsuki decided to take the initiative. “So what IS all of this, huh? I came here to ask YOU questions, not the other way around. So spill it!” Teshin shook his head. “If what you say is true, then the nature of your presence here is beyond my knowledge. There are others here that might be able to assist you…the Cephalons know as Suda and Simaris both preside over great archives of information that I’m sure will be of use to you. There is not much else I can offer you on your path to knowledge.” With that, he turned away from Natsuki and began to meditate on a stone. 

 

Natsuki was baffled. “You…aren’t…weirded out about me not being from here? From this world? Do you think I’m making it up or something? ‘Cause I’m not!” Teshin didnt look at Natsuki, but spoke again; “This world is witness to many stranger happenings. Even the Orokin, at their height, could not understand The Void fully. You being from another world, different from this one, is far more believable than you may think. Now go. Tell your comrades of what you have learned. Come back when you are ready to begin living your new life as a true Tenno.” Natsuki didn’t reply. She slipped back into the Rhino in a flash of pink light, just as before, and descended back down the staircase. It looked like her and her friends would be stuck here…not that Natsuki had much of a home to go back to.

 

None of them did, really.


	5. Test Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuki returns to report her findings back to the group, and after suiting up meet Teshin back at the Relay. One weirdo leads to another, and the girls find themselves and their 'Frames being tested in a live-fire exercise.

Natsuki made it back to the ship much quicker this time. The portion of the relay she docked at was a much smaller area than she was expecting. She’d have to check out the other segments some day. For now though she needed to get back to the rest of the girls and show them what she’d learned. Monika would probably be interested in the syndicates, too…

 

Meanwhile, Yuri was back aboard the Orbiter. Natsuki hadn’t been gone for long, but she still couldn’t help but feel worried. This was a strange new world, and Natsuki was…no, that wasn’t fair to Natsuki. She could handle herself. Admittedly, she just hated the feeling of the group splitting again, even for a short time. Despite all that had happened, being apart of this group was the only time she didnt feel completely strange and alien back in her own school. Now, she found herself in a strange new world, and she truly  _was_  strange and alien. The her friends were the only people she had going forward…

 

Yuri shook her head. This line of thinking was definitely not going to help her…she needed something to occupy herself. Maybe something in the nav room…she made her way up the ramp. Monika and Sayori were busy discussing their next course of action. Despite Sayori’s demeanor as a simple-minded and spacey girl, she seemed to be taking this situation as seriously as Monika was. She continued up the ramp into the Nav room, to the desk where she had seen the console labeled the ‘Codex’. “Maybe there’s something in here worth looking at…” she thought aloud. Opening up the menu, she flipped through some of the tabs on screen. “Hmm…Much more bare-bones then I was expecting…” Yuri remarked. It was mostly statistics and brief summaries of weapons and warframes. The ‘factions’ tab didn’t provide too much more info either, as most of the entries were missing. 

 

The ones she did find intact didn’t have much, just an example of what the subject looked like and a collection of stats. At the very least, Yuri knew what a ‘Grineer’ were. Frustrated, she looked for another tab to peruse…hopefully something with some substance. Did books still exist in this world? Even if they were digital, she would kill for a good fictional work. Something like that had to exist somewhere…Yuri began to lament the loss of the novel she was reading back in the literature club. She doubted that she’d find something here that drew her into its world so completely like Portrait of Markov did…

 

A hiss of decompressed air and the sound of heavy machinery shattered Yuri’s train of thought. Natsuki had returned. Yuri watched as the bulky Rhino climbed out of the floor, waving to her. “N-Natsuki! You’re back so soon? Did you find a solution to your….condition?” The Rhino crossed its arms in typical Natsuki fashion. In a flash, she stepped out of the Warframe, smugly grinning. “See? Told ya I could do it! I’m a pro, remember?” Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. “How does it work? Does it…hurt?” Natsuki shook her head. “Well…lets see…” She tried to organize her thoughts in a way that wouldn’t sound ridiculous. “There was…a Samurai? And he basically told me that if you wanna break the ‘Transference’ or whatever you just need to be aware that you’re in it, and will yourself out of it. It sounds bogus but…well, it works! You weren’t too worried about me while I was away, were ya?~” 

 

Yuri was caught in jumble of feelings. on one hand, she was glad Natsuki made it back safely, and able to solve this Warframe issue, but on the other…a Saumrai? This world kept getting stranger and stranger. “I…yes, I was concerned for you…but, you made it back safely.” She nodded, mostly to herself. “I’ll admit, I’m not sure what to make of the Samurai…maybe he can tell us more, now that we can all go to see him without worrying about the Warframes?” Natsuki shrugged. “I dunno…he seems to like talking pretty vaguely…maybe Monika’d know how to get more out of him. He did mention two people called Simaris and Suda who might know something too…” 

 

Upon hearing the reentry of the liset, Monika and Sayori had come up the ramp to greet Natsuki as well. “Natsukiiiii! You’re okay!” Sayori ran up to give Natsuki a big hug. “I thought you were gonna be stuck in that big Warframe forever…” Natsuki’s face turned pink as she tried (in vain) to wrestle away from Sayori’s hug. “I’m fiiiine Sayori, jeez…I told you you didn’t need to worry, c’mon…” Monika giggled. “So what did you end up finding out?” Sayori finally let go of the pink-haired space-goer so she could reply. “Okay…so hear me out. Space Samurai told me that you can go in and out of these things just by feeling like it. There are also some…factions we can sign up for at the Relay? Most of them seemed lame, but apparently if you become buddy-buddy with them they’ll do you a few favors. AND, we should look for some people called ‘Suda’ and ‘Simaris’. They got a bunch of stuff we can look through.” 

 

Monika glanced at Yuri, but she shrugged, just as confused as Monika was. She gave Natsuki a polite smile. “Well…its not much to go on, but its at least something. Thank you, Natsuki.” Natsuki nodded. She still didn’t trust Monika, but she was in a good mood after her Relay trip. Monika looked to address all three of the girls now. “Okay, everyone! Now that we have an idea of how these things work, we can all go down to the Relay together. That way we can split up and track down Suda and Simaris. Lets head to the arsenal and suit up.” Yuri was apprehensive. “A-all of us? I…hmn.” She still wasn’t sure if she was ready to try on her own Warframe. Natsuki popped back into the Rhino, and motioned down the ramp.  _[It actually feels pretty cool, Yuri. Aren’t you all about vivid experiences and junk?]_  Yuri shook her head, shoulders tensing. “In fiction, yes. But this is something different…” 

 

Sayori was the one to interject. “C’mooooon Yuri! It’ll be fun, I promise! It’ll be like dressing up in costumes!  _Magic_  costumes! At least try one, okay?” Outnumbered, Yuri sighed and stood to follow everyone down the ramp. “I guess I don’t have a choice…” Monika made it to the Arsenal first. Already she had a frame chosen and ready to go. “This one’s called a Vauban…apparently its really good at setting up traps and defensive positions. A pretty good one for keeping bad guys at bay, seems like!” Monika smiled, then took a deep breath. She had wished there was a more concrete way to transfer, instead of it just ‘working by feel’, but whatever. She pressed both hands into the frame, just like she saw Natsuki do before, and in a flash of red she suddenly felt like she was falling into the floor. 

 

The rest of them saw Monika disappear into the warframe. It was inert for a few seconds, but it’s ‘eyes’ sparked to life, and they could hear her voice in their minds.  _[Can anyone hear me?]_  She called out. All three girls nodded their heads. “Uwooah, sooo cooooool! Me next! Me next!” Sayori was already at the terminal as Monika awkwardly tried to move in the Vauban.  _[It feels weird, huh? Like learning how to walk again.]_  Natsuki stood next to Monika, looking over her warframe. The Vauban shrugged.  _[That honestly wasn’t the weird part for me…the feeling of falling got to me the most.]_  Sayori had already pulled up her own frame, a Trinity. “This one is apparently really good at helping others in my team stay safe, so that’s the one I wanna choose!” She gleefully placed her hands on the Trinity like she had seen Monika and Natsuki do, and in a burst of orange the Trinity began to animate.

 

_[Hmmn…I guess it feels a little weirder than putting on a costume…]_ Sayori inspected her frame, touching the various plates and spurs with her new hands.  _[It feels soooo smooth! Its amazing! Yuri, you try!]_  The trinity reached out to yuri, beckoning the last warframeless girl to the console. She gulped, still not quite ready to dive in, but she was left with no choice. She looked through the remaining frames. Loki, Excalibur, Mesa…no, no, no…She scrolled to the top, and found one labeled ‘Ash’. Yri turned to the group, looking for approval. “Apparently this one specializes in stealth and surprise attacks…” The frames didn’t say anything back, but they watched expectantly. It was making Yuri even more nervous than before. “O-okay…I can do this…just…breathe…and–” The second Yuri had touched the Ash, it had pulled her in. Not expecting this, it fell forward onto its knees, bracing itself with its hands on the ground. [Ah, Did I…did it work?] 

 

The ash stood, inspecting itself. [So this is what Natsuki meant…] She had to admit, the feeling of being able to move about in this form was pleasant. She felt lighter than air, and way more nimble than she ever had as a normal human being. Still, she had to admit it was hard to shake the habit of playing with her hair, so she took to feeling out the texture of the warframes forearm instead. [Looks good, Yuri. It suits you!] Natsuki gave the as ha thumbs up. Yuri nodded, glad that someone finally broke the silence. Monika motioned for the nav room again. [Now we can go meet this…Samurai Natsuki was talking about.] The remaining girls followed, and after climbing into their respective landing craft they made it back to the Larunda Relay. 

 

With Natsuki taking the lead, she lead them to Teshin’s room only to find him standing outside, waiting for them. Natsuki waved, and was about to transfer out of her Rhino, but Teshin held up his hand signalling her to stop. “Not here. We must go to Simaris first. The secrets of the Tenno are long-sought, and we must preserve them. Come, Simaris’ domain is above.” The rhino shrugged, and followed Teshin into what looked to be an elevator with the remaining girls tailing behind them. The ride up was very short. [I seriously thought this place was gonna be bigger…] Natsuki grumbled as they approached the door. Teshin entered first, and motioned the girls to follow. Once inside, Teshin closed the door and locked it. “Now, we may discuss this matter without any prying eyes. Simaris? You have guests. Come out and be a good host.” The room was empty except for the five of them. Natsuki popped out of her Rhino and sighed. “If we find out you’re just a crazy old man in a samurai costume and you’re makign stuff up–” A booming voice echoed through the chamber.  **“AS ECCENTRIC AND INFURIATINGLY VAGUE AS HE MAY BE, TESHIN IS NOT A LIAR.”**  Natsuki squeaked in surprise as a mass of glowing shapes appeared in the rooms center, four-sided polygons arranging themselves into the shape of a Plus sign and an X.  **“I AM SIMARIS, KEEPER OF THE SANCTUARY.”**  

 

The cephalon zoomed in on Natsuki, making her visibly recoil. “Y-yeah? And? Anyone teach you about personal space?!” She tried to shoo the hologram away with her small hand. The image flickered, but remained at its uncomfortable distance. “TESHIN, WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT THESE TENNO TO ME? I AM AN ARCHIVIST, NOT A CARETAKER.” At this point, the other three girls exited their warframes as well, Monika being the first to introduce herself. “We’re actually here to ask you some questions. Firstly–” Simaris turned to face Monika, though she didnt flinch like Natsuki (Or Yuri, who was behind her) did. **“DO I LOOK AS THOUGH I AM A SEARCH DIRECTORY?”**  Monika smirked. “Do you want an honest answer?” The projection dimmed for a second, as if the Cephalon was actually thinking the question over.  **“NO. HURRY AND ASK YOUR ASININE QUERY.”** Sayori spoke up from Monika’s side. “We’re not…from here! We’re from somewhere else, but then the world fell apart and all of a sudden we ended up here! We don’t know what a ‘Tenno’ is, but we’d like your help finding a way home! Will you please help us, Mister Cephalon?” 

 

Natsuki crossed her arms and looked away. Honestly, she was fine with not returning home. These last few hours of being dimensions away from her father were some of the most anxiety-free she had ever experienced. She secretly hoped Simaris wouldn’t have an answer for them…  **“INTERESTING. PERHAPS YOU ALSO HAVE BECOME A VICTIM OF THE VOID, MUCH LIKE ‘TRUE’ TENNO. I DO NOT HAVE MUCH DATA ON THE VOID ITSELF, SAVE FOR ITS RATHER CURIOUS INHABITANTS…EVEN THE OROKIN THEMSELVES DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND. HOWEVER, IF ANYONE ON THIS STATION WOULD KNOW, IT MIGHT BE THAT DIGITAL PACKRAT SUDA.”** Teshin nodded. “Since we are here, Simaris, I would like to use the Simulacrum. These tenno remain untested, and before I set them adrift of the nest, I need assure they have some sort of combat experience.” The hologram tilted, as if baffled.  **“YOU WISH TO USE MY SANCTUARY AS SOME COMMON FIRING RANGE? TRULY, TESHIN, THE ONLY THING YOU ARE A MASTER OF IS SWINGING STICKS AND CLAIMING IT TO BE PHILOSPHY.”**  The Dax warrior smirked. “Big words coming from a glorified Librarian who’s shelves contain nothing but ghosts…” 

 

The Cephalon hummed and buzzed, but eventually relented. The door to the groups left began to glow.  **“DO AS YOU WISH. LEAVE ME TO MY SANCTUARY. I MUST PROCURE NEW TARGETS TO HUNT.”**  Teshin nodded, and motioned to the door. Sayori seemed nervous. “There aren’t…really ghosts in there, are there?” Yuri shook her head. “I believe he was being diminutive, Sayori…” Sayori nodded, but didn’t look like she actually understood. The group, warframe-clad,  traveled into the Simulacrum, where Teshin had already begun to mess with some settings. “You may have arrived here by some fluke,” he began “but getting around the Origin system will be a difficult journey from this point forward. You may try to use the junctions between systems to shorten the gap, but it would be foolish to say that a Grineer or Corpus fleet would allow you to just intrude without being accosted…” the room was dark, and it was difficult to tell what lay inside. “…So, I shall test your combat skills here.” With that, Teshin activated the Simulacrum, and the simulation sprawled to life in all directions.

 

“First, I shall test your prowess with firearms. Each of you shall face several lancers in this arena. Treat this as you would any other life-or-death situation, because for all intents and purposes, it is.” Teshin pointed to the Vauban Monika inhabited. “You seem to be the leader of this group. You shall go first.” Monika nodded as she stepped into the arena. Sayori was concerned. [Are we really gonna have to fight people out there? I dont think I can do that…] Monika gave Sayori a thumbs up to attempt to reassure her. [Its like a videogame, Sayori. These are the bad guys.] The trinity shook its head. [I don’t think we can use ‘its like a video game’ if we’re actually part of it!] Before Monika could respond, the Lancers began materializing one by one. They uttered loud, digitized orders at each other in a language Monika couldn’t understand. Several of them took cover behind structures in the arena, while a few began to open fire. 

 

Moniak reacted quickly. She took cover behind the nearest pillar and tried to focus. This Warframes apparently had a bunch of powers, and if Natsuki’s explanation on how these things worked on feel was true, then all she had to do was feel it out. She peered over, trying to get a read on the enemy, but a hail of bullets forced her to dart back. [Hmn. I guess Im just going to have to throw one out and see what happens…] Monika concentrated, thinking back on the display she read in the orbiter…She concentrated…A small orb formed in her hand. It had a certain heft to it despite its size. She tossed it gently, catching it in her hand again before launching it from the corner of the pillar. She heard a ‘ping’ sound as it latched to a wall, and the electric charge after it. A few grineer cried out in digitized voices as the arcs from the tesla grenade fried them. Using that as a distraction, Monika poked out around the corner again, and shot two more.

 

Sayori transferred out of her warframe again, concern radiating off her expression like a neon sign. “Teshin, I don’t think i understand…why would we have to fight the grineer?” The Dax tilted his head toward Sayori, but kept his eye on the fight below. “The grineer are an empire of decaying clones, rabidly trying to conquer the system. They are bent on eliminating everything that is not Grineer. They are riddled with degenerative diseases and kept alive through shoddy cybernetics. Killing them is an act of mercy twofold; taking their life saves an innocent, while also sparing the Grineer of an undoubtedly wretched existence. They are aimless beasts built for war, and nothing more.” Sayori had trouble following, but got the jist of it. “The Corpus, on the other hand,” Teshin continued,  “Have the colonists in economic shackles. They, however, prefer monitoring their investments with machines and proxies. A cowardly, greedy lot.” 

 

Natsuki, who had been listening, popped out of her frame as well. “So they really are the bad guys, huh?” Teshin smirked. “This is not a being alive who would not abuse power as soon as they would seize it. The Tenno function as equalizers, not saviors. As we are unable to overturn one without strengthening the other, we must make sure neither can outdo each other while minimizing harm to innocents. That is why they are your enemy; you’re very existence is an obstacle and a challenge against their power. Remember this on your journey.” In that moment, Monika had finished. Climbing back atop the platform, she exited her vauban. “I think I did pretty good!” Monika was grinning a much more genuine smile. It had been a while since she had an experience quite so exhilarating. Teshin nodded. “You seem to have a tactical mind, Monika. You will lead your team well. But remember this; Tenno are creatures of instinct as well. Your enemy will not give you and quarter in your engagements.” 

 

Teshin turned to Yuri, who had been quiet since the training session began. Knowing her, she had probably been deep in thought watching Monika take on the Grineer mobs. “You there, silent one. I shall test you next. [M-me? I dont think I’m ready just yet…I–] Monika gently placed a hand on the Ash’s shoulder. “Yuri, its going to be fine. Just relax, and concentrate. You can do this.” The ash wordlessly nodded as it nervously stepped into the arena. Teshin tapped on the console and the trial began again. Yuri had a rough start, having nowhere near the same riflemans skill that Monika displayed. However, she made up for it with her quickly learning her own frames powers. Shuriken mortally struck several Grineer, and they were unable to pin her down due to Teleport and Smokescreen. She took to using her Skana sword very well, slicing through the survivors with grace. When it was finally over, the ash looked like it had just come out of a trance. It clambered back up to the platform again, where Yuri emerged, winded. “That was…haah…intense…” Her cheeks were red, and her eyes looked hazy. Teshin nodded. “You did well, Yuri. The synergy between the use of your Warframe and blade was remarkable. We will have to do something about your firearm proficiency, however…” Teshin took note on a small tablet he had kept in his breastplate. 

 

He was about to turn to Natsuki, but she had already jumped into the fray, the impact of her Rhino hitting the ground cracking the digital floor of the simulacrum. The same mob of digital Grineer troopers spawned in, and Natsuki got to work. While she was just as efficient as Yuri when it came to using her powers with her weapons, it was nowhere near as graceful. She fired out in wide swaths, missing most of her shots. In the end, she bludgeoned a trooper to death with her rifle and drew her Skana. Nowhere near as precise ad Yuri’s cutting blows, but the sheer strength her rhino provided allowed Natsuki cleave through the remaining troops. She climbed back up, and transferred out, looking smug. “I think I did pretty well!~” Teshin shrugged. “Your performance was messy and brutal, but effective. Perhaps precision instruments are not your specialty…” Natsuki stammered, going red in the face. “B-but! I– hmph! I beat them all, didnt I? Does it really need to be all fancy and elegant?” In a huff, Natsuki melded with the Rhino and pouted. _[Whatever…]_

 

All that was left was Sayori, still fairly reluctant. Still, not wanting to disappoint everyone, she gently hopped into the arena. Unfortunately, she did not fare as well as the others. Her frame, dedicated to the support of a squad, could only mitigate the damage coming her way. Still, after taking a couple harsh blows, Sayori managed to pull through. Tired and battered, she slowly lifted herself up the platform and disengaged from the Trinity. “Oof…” Sayori inspected her body. Though every hit stung as if she herself had been hurt, she looked completely fine. “Well…it wasn’t the best, but I did it, right?” Teshin nodded. “Your frame is much more suited to the support of other frames in combat. While filling that role is important, you would do well to find more Warframes that you can use in other situations. You cannot avoid fighting forever.” He turned to address the group. “You all have shown me that you are indeed capable of handling yourselves out in the field. I shall take you to Suda to address any questions you may have.” With that, the simulation began to dissipate, and the room went dark again. Teshin led the group out of the Simulacrum, and back into the main hall of the Larunda Relay. 

 

“Be sure to inquire about the other syndicates as well. Allowing one to become too influential would be foolish, and each of them all bestow their own unique benefits.” With that, Teshin stopped in front of their destination. “Here is where you shall find her. Good luck.” The doors parted, and there she was.

 

The woman who knew everything*, Cephalon Suda.


	6. The Woman who knows everything*, and the Man who sells Anything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika pleads to Suda, and the two strike a deal. Teshin does the club a solid before finally sending them on their way.

The door opened to reveal a small room. as the girls all filtered in, Teshin stayed behind to watch the door. “May fortune find you, Tenno.” And the door sealed behind them. The room was mostly barren, save for a swirling cluster of blue shapes in the very back. [Reminds me of that Simaris guy…] Sayori thought aloud. [Yeah…hopefully she’s more cooperative] Monika stepped out of her Vauban. “Hello? My name is Monika. We’re, uh, not from here. and we wanted to ask you some questions–” as Monika stepped closer, the projection in disappeared. “Uhm…” Monika was losing her patience. “Hello?” She didn’t come all this way just to be ignored. Stepping closer, she addressed Suda again. “Please? We really could use your help…we need to figure out how we got here, and why, and…” She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know what to do and its not something I’m used to…Its terrifying. So if you have anything for us to go on, please, tell us.” 

 

The other three girls remained silent. Yuri and Natsuki weren’t used to seeing their former president at a loss for direction…she had always known what to do before. Sayori, however, knew all too well how Monika felt. That horrible pit in your core that feeling aimless and hopeless gives you was something Sayori had also experienced towards the end of their time in the Literature Club. The back of the room suddenly began to dissipate, revealing what the girls could only assume was Suda herself, surveying the Tenno with her inscrutable eye. “You are interesting.” She spoke, with a tone that could only be described as matter-of-fact. “It seems monitoring you four would be an excellent opportunity to study extra-dimensional anomalies. Exciting.” Monika shrugged, unsure of how to respond. “I…guess? Does that mean you’ll help us?” The cephalon flickered. “It would seem beneficial to assist you. However, my wealth of information is not something to be freely distributed. If you wish to utilize my archives, I have a task for you to complete for me.” 

 

Monika felt very tired, it was one thing after another with these people. Monika looked back to her friends, all of which looked just as unsure as she did, even in their warframes. “Whats the task?” The cephalon whirred. "There are vast amounts of data hidden in ancient Orokin structures dotting the void, filled with vast amounts of information from the era of the Empire. Journey there, and extract anything you can find." The cephalon went dark for a moment, and when it came back, a smaller copy of itself appeared next to it. “I would like you to take this partitioned copy of myself with you on your journey as well, to function as your ship cephalon. It shall act as a guide for your journey, as well as relay your findings to me remotely. Information for Information.” 

 

[Are we really gonna let this thing spy on us while we’re out in space? That sounds creepy.] Natsuki crossed her arms. Yuri nodded, siding with Natuski. [I agree. We’ve only just met this being, and now we’re letting it intrude into our living space?] Monika looked at the smaller Suda, and nodded. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.” The Cephalon shifted, and the smaller projection disappeared, a small device taking its place. “Excellent. Plug this device into your orbiter, and my partition shall handle the rest. She is also equipped with my encrypted archives on Orokin void research and anomalies. Should you complete my assignment, these archives shall decrypt for you. I hope this exchange will prove mutually beneficial. As for your first objective…I suggest investigating the void gate on Phobos.” The datascape Suda projected started to disappear again, closing the room up once more. Monika grabbed the datamass, and turned to the rest of the girls, who all seemed just as exasperated as she was. “Well…I guess we got what we came here for? At least we have an idea of what we’re doing now. And we even picked up a new member!” 

 

Sayori clapped her hands together, not feeling as apprehensive about the Cephalon as Yuri or Monika. [I can’t wait to meet her! I hope she’s nice!] Natsuki continued to pout. [She better be. We don’t exactly have a good track record with new members…] Yuri grimaced, clearly uncomfortable. [Lets not…jinx it, yes? This isn’t going to be like that…right, Monika?] Monika nodded. “It’s not gonna be like last time, guys. We’re all here for each other, and we’ll all make sure we get through this, okay?” Natsuki turned to leave, dismissing Monika. [I’ll believe it when I see it.] As Monika rejoined her warframe, the doors parted, and Teshin greeted them. “I trust you have what you came for. Now, before you leave, you have one last stop to make. See Darvo, on the upper floor. Show him this datapad, and he’ll take care of the rest from there.” He handed it to atsuki, and made his way back to his refuge. “From here on, you shall be on your own. I can offer you no more assistance. Keep your transference a secret, for now.” Natsuki nodded as Teshin headed off. [Looks like we should visit this Darvo guy next…] 

 

Sure enough, after a quiet walk, the girls stumbled into Darvos ‘market’. In truth, it looked more like a closet someone decided to haphazardly shove a bunch of weapons into, but the mess was a comforting sign of normalcy after dealing with a bunch of grandiose and intense individuals. The vault behind them was full of weapons, ammunition, and many other odd pieces of equipment. Left of the vault was a makeshift desk made out of a shipping crate. A plate of some sort of pastry and a mug full of what looked to be coffee sat on top of it, along with other odds and ends. Natsuki was about to make her way towards then desk, but a voice croaked out behind them. “Ooh, Clem! Clem Clem!” The four froze as they saw what looked to be a grineer lancer they had trained against earlier. Drawing their weapons on him, the Grineer immediately rushed into the vault and cowered behind a large crate, scattering various merchandise all over the floor.

 

[Wait, guys, he doesn’t seem like he wants to fight!] Sayori was the first to object, holstering her lato. Just as the others were about to offer their input, a grating voice rang out behind them. “WOAH WOAH WOAH, Tenno, easy! This is a place of business! Please don’t execute my associate all over my merchandise. C’mon. We can talk this out.” The group turned to look at a rather strange-looking man with a funny hat. “Apologies, tenno, I was out for a whiz. The name’s Darvo! And you’ve just met my business partner Clem. He’s harmless, trust me. Turned his back on the Grineer empire a while ago.” Learning this, the remaining girls awkwardly stowed their weapons. “Theeeeere we go! Falling tension! My second-favorite thing in the Origin System. Now onto business, my FIRST-favorite thing in the Origin System. What do you four need?” 

 

Natsuki giggled. [I kinda like this guy. He’s way cooler than the others we’ve met so far.] She handed the datapad to Darvo, and he looked it over. “Oooh, c’mon Teshin, you’re killing me. I’m a smuggler, not a requisitions officer…ugh.” Darvo mulled over the request, scratching his chin. “Okay, so, it looks like he wants me to give you guys some freebies. There’s some specifications here and by the looks of it they aren’t too ridiculous, so I think I can make it work. For you…” He pointed to Yuri, who was focused on studying Clem and was surprised by being addressed so suddenly. “…Teshin suggests a bow and some throwing knives. Never got why you Tenno were into that. Too fancy for me, always preferred something more direct…” Darvo disappeared into the vault, shuffling through various cases Clem had knocked over moments before. [I KNEW this guy was cool!] Natsuki exclaimed. [I suppose even in this place some people just can’t appreciate the more elegant things…] Yuri sighed, crossing her arms. 

 

Darvo returned, weapons in hand. “…I guess that’s part of the charm though, eh? You all make it look easy. Here, take these, and I’ll pawn off that rifle for you. What do ya say?” Yuri handed over her braton and took the Paris bow and kunai. She felt the weight of one of the throwing knives in her hand before stowing them on the hip holsters of her Ash. They felt…surprisingly well-balanced! She would have to admire their craftsmanship later. Darvo turned to Sayori. “Not much of a sword fighter, eh? Don’t worry. I got something for that too…” In one of the smaller closets lining the room, Darvo retrieved a long bo staff. Much like the bow and kunai Darvo had given to Yuri, the craftsmanship on the staff was also immaculate. Handing over her Skana, Sayori happily twirled her new weapon around a few times. “That should help keep the baddies at a distance. Also, konking a Grineer on the noggin is very fun. Highly recommended, ton-out-of-ten. Next uuuup iiiiis…” Darvo turned to Natsuki. 

 

“You! Big pink marshmallow Tenno! Teshin says here that you aren’t really one for overrated concepts like ‘Precision’ or ‘elegance’. I can relate, truly. Fortunately, I have a few solutions. I’d like you to meet my friends Strun and Furax.” Darvo produced what looked to be a shotgun and a pair of comically sized knuckle weapons. “These’ll all help you deal with getting in close more effectively. All I need are your rifle and sword and you can start smashing!” Natsuki eagerly handed over her other weapons in exchange for her new toys. [Sweeet!] Darvo turned to Monika. “Teshin said you passed whatever his test was with flying colors, so he wanted to reward it…with my merch...The cheapskate. Anyways, I have something for you as well…” Darvo opened up a case and pulled out an odd-looking handgun. “Sicarus. Burst fire, marksman pistol. A bit weirder than a regular semi-auto, but Teshin thought you could use a challenge. Here.” Monika moved to hand over her Lato, but Darvo refused. “No no, this is a gift. From him, through me, to you. Just take it.” Monika obliged, grabbing the sidearm from Darvo. 

 

“Annnd I think that’s everything! Make sure you stop by again when you have some money! And also, keep this on the down-low. I don’t want people thinking I’m giving hand-outs.” Natsuki waved as the group left for the dock, eager to return to their ship. “Well, I that wasn’t a total waste of time, right?” Natsuki had asked upon their return to the Orbiter Sayori was playfully twirling her new staff. “I had a lot of fun, even if mister Teshin’s test was tough…” Yuri was admiring her new knives. “It was very informative, yes. I learned a lot about this world just through our few interactions with the other people on the relay.” Monika was busy trying to hook the datamass up. “I just hope this…cephalon can guide us to that void gate.” After a few more attempts, the datamass plugged into the center console, and the ships lights flickered for a moment…And then a small, jovial voice spoke to them.

 

“Hello! I am Cephalon Suda Partition-type 5-F37, assistant-class! I shall be your ship cephalon, guide, and chronicler! You may call me Sudafet! Shall we begin our journey to Phobos?”


	7. Down to Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting Sudafet, the girls start planning their trip to Phobos. Before they can make the jump to Mars, a detour is in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does get violent, Warframes being war machines and all that. Just a heads up!

“Hello Sudafet! Its nice to meet you!” Sayori rushed up to greet the Cephalon, excited to make a new friend. Monika was close behind, looking over Suda FT1 quizzically. “It is nice to meet you too, Operator Sayori! I look forward to seeing where your journeys take you! Now, Operator Monika, shall I begin assembling the starpath to Phobos?” The red-haired ex-president nodded, pulling up the map. “Where are we headed?” The cephalon flickered over next to the girls as the map pulled up. “We shall take the junction system up to Mars. From there, we will have to find a way to bypass the Grineer and Corpus armadas occupying the space in between the planet and its moon!” Monika surveyed the flight path, where it ran smoothly from mercury to Mars, but between mars and its junctions were large red Xs. “Whats that about?” The cephalon hovered over to the display of Mars, “The current dilemma with this flight path is the Grineer fleet, currently under orders to blockade the junctions around the planet! This means that once we enter the space around Mars, we will be trapped there until the commander is dealt with!” 

 

Natsuki crossed her arms, annoyed by the cephalons overly cheerful attitude. “So, what, are we just supposed to walk into a killbox or something? That seems stupid…” The cephalon perked up. “Indeed! That is why I suggest making a detour to Earth, where we may have a chance to gather information on the Grineer by tapping into their data vaults!” Monika moved back to earth on the map, looking over the nodes available. “So what should we be looking for?” the Sudalet highlighted a few nodes. “The Grineer keep a network cluster here, at the Eurasia node. I would suggest probing it for information related to Mars and its fortifications!” The cephalon highlighted two lower nodes. “Here, at Mantle, a Grineer intelligence officer is doing some routine debriefing. I’m sure you could ‘extract’ information from him!” Natsuki grinned, play-boxing with the projection of Saturn. “I call that one.” The node turned pink, to Natsuki’s delight. “The last node is Cambria. The Grineer keep vast data vaults hidden in the jungles there. To steal the data, you must go in undetected and avoid the vaults internal security measures.” Yuri opted for that one. “If stealth is necessary to break into the vaults, then I shall volunteer for that.” 

 

“Whats Cetus?” Monika asked, hovering over it. “It says the faction is ‘Tenno’…Are they friendly?” The cephalon nodded. “The Ostrons are very accommodating to those who do them favors! It would be wise to make a good impression on them going forward. Konzu, the village elder, may even know additional places where the Grineer keep sensitive data!” Monika turned to the group. “Okay everyone, it looks like we’ve kinda decided to split up already, so me and Sayori will take care of Eurasia. When we’ve all gotten what we needed, lets all meet up at Cetus. Sound good?” The girls all nodded in agreement. “Alright, then make sure you’re all prepared and get ready to head out.” Sayori felt bouncy and excited, eager to head to the surface. She’d been cooped up in spacecraft and relays for too long. “Oh, I can’t wait to see what Earth looks like now! I bet it looks so pretty there…” Sudafet flickered, making a noise the girls guessed was supposed to be a chuckle. “Operator Sayori, the Earth has been overrun with Orokin plant life for centuries! Trees and plant matter are constantly threatening to overtake vast portions of the planet. This HAS made it harder for the Grineer to get a foothold on the planet. This in of itself could be ‘pretty’, I suppose!” Sayori gazed a the projection with eyes full of wonder. “…That sounds beautiful!” She jumped into her Trinity without a second thought. [Lets go, guys!] 

 

Yuri slipped into her Ash, placing the throwing knife she was admiring back into its holster. Natsuki, who was still shadowboxing, transferred into her Rhino as well, carrying over the playful gestures perfectly, this time wearing its new Furax gauntlets. Monika looked over the map again, and melded with her Vauban. [Looks like we’re all ready. Lets go!] The girls nodded and selected their nodes on the map. It was time to get to work. 

 

* * *

|Mantle: Natsuki Route|

Natsuki been planetside for no longer than 15 minutes and she had already gotten lost. Sudafet wasn’t kidding about the plants. Vines and trees engulfed the abandoned Grineer structures around her, crushing and devouring their foundations. [Stupid trees…] She kicked at the mossy forest floor, looking around for a clue as to where the officer could be hiding out at. She noticed what looked like an old tunnel hidden in the moss, and decided that was as good a start as any. Before Natsuki could enter the tunnel, however, she heard voices approaching from within. She quickly hid to the side of the tunnel entrance and waited for whoever was inside to move past. The language they spoke was strange and garbled, and certainly not English. The footsteps trudged closer, and two figures stepped out of the tunnel. One looked almost exactly like the Grineer copies they fought in Teshins test, the other was smaller, less imposing. Instead of a gun it carried what looked like a rusty old cleaver. They continued to chatter, and despite Natsuki not understanding a word they said, their tone told her everything she needed to know; two bored guards stuck on patrol. 

 

The guards had their backs turned to her, so she had the upper hand. Slowly, she crept up behind them…and with a single swift motion clocked the smaller one in the back of the head, launching them into the forest floor with a heavy  _krak-thud._ The second guard turned, clumsily trying to aim his rifle as Natsuki jabbed him in the midsection, causing him to hack and cough as he doubled over in pain. She brought her fists together and raised them up, bringing them down in a massive slam that knocked the guard face-first into the ground, motionless. [Tch, pushovers…] Natsuki looked back at the tunnel, no longer hearing any voices or movement. [Well, they had to come from somewhere…] She quickly made her way into the tunnel. It was quiet for a while, navigating the half-engulfed structures twists and turns. The silence was broken when Sudafet commed in, startling Natsuki and causing her to drop her shotgun. “Hello, Operator Natsuki! You are approaching the mission objective. When you encounter the intelligence officer, simply subdue him, and I shall interrogate him!” Natsuki sheepishly picked her weapon back up, kicking herself for being so easily taken by surprise. [Stupid robot…] 

 

After another few minutes of navigating the tunnel, Natsuki heard voices coming from the end of the tunnel. More guards, probably…but way more than before. Sidling up to the side of the tunnel, she slowly poked her head out to get a better view. What she saw was a small pond, surrounded by grineer machinery. Troopers and infantry were moving equipment and supplies back and forth, under the supervision of a unique-looking, much louder Grineer standing atop the pile of rusty, overgrown technology. [that has to be hi–] Before Natsuki could finish her thought, a trooper called out, pointing toward the tunnel she was hiding in. The officer looked in her direction and began to bolt for the back of the clearing. [–Shit…] Wasting no time, Natsuki launched herself into action, the musculature of the Rhinos legs propelling her forward faster than she had ever run before. A grineer training its rifle on her was trampled under the bull rush, its alloy armor plates crunching under the Warframes heel as the  _rik-tik-tik-tik_ of Grakata gunfire filled the air. Rather than going around the pile the officer was standing on before, Natsuki instinctively leaped upwards, the force of the heavy frame propelling it well over the debris and clearing it, saving her precious seconds as the chase continued. Bullets pinged off the frames hardened shell, the surprised soldiers unable to train their rifles as Natsuki carried on. 

 

The chase continued, The officer was breathing heavily, his own artificial lungs struggling to keep up against an unstoppable war machine. Natsuki was having a blast. She’d never ran so hard or fast in her life, and with this Warframe she could just go and go and go…a game of tag she could play forever. She was so caught up in the thrill she didn’t notice the officer stopped at the end of the tunnel, opening up to an underground waterfall. Unable to stop her momentum, the two tumbled off the cliff and fell to the shallow pool two stories below. The two impacted the water with a large splash. Natsuki swore she felt something crack, but when she sat up, her Rhino appeared fine. [Then what was–] She bolted up and trained her gun back on the officer, only to find that he was desperately trying to claw himself away from her. Natsuki realized where the cracking had come from; she had fallen onto the officers prosthetic legs, completely crushing them. Sudafet pinged Natsuki again, even more cheery then before. “Excellent work, Operator Natsuki! Now, please allow me to interrogate the officer! Simply hold out your hand, and I shall project myself into view!” 

 

Natsuki obliged, holding out her hand. The grineer officer looked confused for a moment, thinking the Warframe was offering its hand to help him up. Some sort of sick joke, to be sure…until he was greeted with a cephalon. “Hello, grineer worm! I am Cephalon Sudafet, and you have information we need! Will you please divulge who is currently in command of the Grineer armada of mars?” The officer spat, blood and synthetic fluids mixing with the crystal clear water. “Kegeht reggaer, Skoom!” Natsuki looked to Sudafet for a translation. “He said something rather rude. Would you mind convincing him to cooperate, Operator Natsuki?” Nodding, the Rhino threw a fist into the officers midsection, causing him to spatter and cough up more blood. “Tenno SKOOM. Kru-vas suv–” Natsuki stamped on the officers hand, crushing some still-organic fingers. “–aaAAAGH L–LECH! LECH KRIL! LECH KRIL KRUS MARS!” The cephalon brightened. “Ah, a name! Thank you, officer! This shall help us in our journey! Operator Natsuki, if you wouldn’t mind, please relieve this soldier of duty!” Sudafet flickered out, leaving the two alone. The officer cried out, trying to call for help, but was cut short by a loud bang. 

 

Natsuki holstered her weapons. She made her way towards the point Sudafet said she’d be picked up at. [Ha. Easy-peazy. Can’t wait to tell the others how good I did~]

 

* * *

|Cambria: Yuri Route|

Yuri hid in the brush, arrow drawn. So far, three Grineer had fallen to bow. [The huntress lies in wait…her prey unknowingly taking their final fateful steps…their final breath of life…blissfully unaware of the sudden and jarring end that awaits them…] Yuri giggled to herself, deeply immersed in her role as an assassin. The solider came to a stop overlooking a ravine, surveying the jungle below. A quiet  _TWICK_ and an arrow pierced straight through the grineer’s center mass. The guard gasped, but it was too late; the force of the arrow was just enough to send the mortally wounded grineer right over the edge of the cliff, tumbling deep into the foliage. [Another victim, the huntress was relentless. Encroaching and ever-present, she was deliverance, doling out the last gift life had to offer; death.] This continued for a while, playfully picking off the guards one by one. This had been the first time she had been alone with her thoughts since arriving here, and now that she had some space, she felt herself slowly being drawn into this world. Still, despite how fun it was, she would have to move on and complete her objective.

 

She made her way deeper into the jungle base, getting closer to the first objective marker. Sudafet mentioned that she would probably only need the contents of one of these data vaults, but all three would certainly be optimal. If cracking these vaults was as easy as picking off the guards, she’d have no trouble getting through whatever security they contained. She fiddled with the door console, and the vault opened. What was inside threw her off. A bridge leading to a tunnel going straight down, filled with gushing water. [Then the console must be…?] She moved to the pipe, placing her hand into the waterfall to test how strong the flow was. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel much resistance. With no other option, Yuri descended into the tunnel. She didn’t drop far, landing on top of a grate with an opening torn into the metal wall in front of her. Stepping out into the main vault, she grew more confused. A sort of spiral stair case leading upwards lining the walls of the natural cavern the vault was built into. [This is getting ridiculous…] She began her trek up the stairs, dodging the sensors easily enough. Within minutes she had made her way into the console room proper, and stole the documents within. [Okay…now for the other two…]

 

Yuri’s next stop was what looked to be a pumping station, the vault console itself hidden deep under the water. This one seemed more straight-forward; drain the vault, get the data. There had to be a control panel in the room somewhere… Multiple were scattered throughout the room. [It must be one of them…] She leaped to the closest one, fiddling with the display. Sure enough, the water drained partway, confirming Yuri’s suspicions. After maneuvering around, guards silently picked off, she managed to fully drain the vault. [Easy enough…] Yuri was starting to get bored. Sudafet commed in, disrupting her train of thought. “Hello, Operator Yuri! I am giving you an update regarding our current mission! Natsuki has finished gathering information from the Grineer officer! She will be waiting for you and Operators Sayori and Monika in Cetus! She also asked me to relay you a message!” The cephalon buzzed as it attempted to synthesize Natsuki’s voice, but it came out slightly stilted and awkward: “Eat My Dust, Yuri!” 

 

Yuri felt embarrassed. How long had she been here, toying with these grineer instead of focusing on the task at hand? She quickly patched into the datavault and stole its contents, making a B-line for her last objective. Her mind was racing, picking through and over-analyzing the mistakes she might of made that had wasted time. She broke into the final vault, its layout was more straight-forward; a pipeline of rushing water in a sloping half-pipe protected by sensors with the main console at the bottom. The sensors themselves flickered on and off occasionally, so timing was key here. Unfortunately, Yuri was too distracted to think about timing, and she slid down the half-pipe without thinking. She managed to slip past the first sensor just in time, but hit the second too early, causing the alarm to blare inside the vault. Frazzled by yet another mistake, Yuri hopped onto the platform above the end of the pipe, rushing towards the vault. “Attention, Operator Yuri! You have triggered an alarm! You will have approximately forty-five seconds to breach the remaining security before the Grineer destroy the data contained in this console!” 

 

[Wh–No, nonono I can’t fall flat like this! I was doing so good!] Yuri rushed to the console room door with thirty-six seconds to spare, frantically messing with the doors lock. ten seconds later, she was in. A guard was waiting for her, rifle trained on the door. He started firing as soon as the door opened, forcing Yuri to duck behind one of the pipes in the room. Seventeen seconds. In her panic, Yuri accidentally tapped into her fourth Warframe ability; Bladestorm. The world turned grayscale as she peered over to the guard, her eyes focusing in on the final obstacle in her path. The blaring alarm dulled, and a mark appeared above his head. Was she hallucinating? She couldn’t tell. In a flash of smoke, she was upon him, taking him completely by surprise. Acting on instinct now, Yuri felt the Ash reveal its secret weapon; two long, techno-organic blades hidden inside the warframes arms, extending out and through her open palms. The blades dug deep into the guard, slicing and stabbing into him with a sense of instinctual drive that Yuri felt herself being overridden by, as if she wasn't fully in control. In moments, it was over. The guard shredded into literal tatters, and ten seconds left on the clock. 

 

Snapping out of her trance, Yuri quickly made her way to the main vault console and swiftly retrieved the data, the ash’s built-in blades retreating back into her arms. The sensation was wildly uncomfortable, but she managed to keep it together until she finished pulling out the vaults contents. She stood there for a moment, uncomfortable with what she just did. Sure, she had murdered these soldiers like it was nothing earlier, but that last one…felt…different. A mix of emotions tangled together, conflicting signals from the ash’s cognitive neural pathways and Yuri’s own personal morbid curiosities she had thought she had a better grip on, now that Monika wasn’t messing with her. Sudafet again chimed in, bringing her back to reality. “Excellent work, Operator Yuri, you have retrieved a surplus of data from these three vaults! Not only will this help us with deal with the grineer occupation on Mars, but it may also give us a tactical advantage here as well! Please proceed to the evac marker so that I may transport you to meet up with Natsuki in Cetus!” Yuri nodded, heading out towards the point Sudafet described. 

 

[Perhaps I should…look into alternative Warframes I can use instead of this one…]

 

* * *

|Eurasia: Monika + Sayori Route|

The journey to their drop-off point was quiet enough. Sayori happily skipped through the brush as Monika kept up at a brisk pace, reviewing the objective. [It looks like all we had to do is link this thing…] she hefted a small rectangular metal box, about the size of a laptop. […to one of the network computers here, and Sudafet will do the rest.] Sayori was admiring a strange flower she had never seen before, humming a sing-song acknowledgement to Monika as she plucked it. [It sounds pretty easy to me!] Monika shook her head, not nearly as interested in the lush environment around them as Sayori was. [Hey, Monika…can I ask you a question?] Monika nodded, keeping watch for any wayward grineer patrols. [Do you think there’s  _actually_  a way out of here? Out of this game?] The vauban froze, this wasn’t a question Monika really had an answer for, or wanted to think about. [Honestly…] Monika began, trying to come up with a better answer than ‘I don’t know’. 

 

[There…has to be, right? We escaped the Literature Club, so there has to be a way out here too.] Sayori was quiet for a moment. [I wouldn’t mind sticking around for a bit, honestly. It seems pretty nice here. Its pretty, and we have more room to explore and stuff…] The pair came upon a small grineer encampment, the lush plantlife growing more and more wild around the structures, as if the earth itself were lashing out at its defilers. The soldiers themselves were all milling about, weapons ready. [I can’t really find any of this pretty. None of its actually real. Even if the cage is bigger and prettier, its still a cage. And we’re still trapped inside.] Sayori didn’t respond. Monika talked about things like ‘reality’ and being ‘real’, but wasn’t being here, free of the Literature Club and free of their original programming real enough? Much like Monika, she didn’t really know. These existential thoughts since having woken up here wouldn’t leave either of them alone. She might not have been as sensitive to the ‘boundaries’ of this world as Monika might be, but Sayori still had some idea. It felt vast, and constantly shifting, as if built on sand. 

 

After scanning the encampment for a bit, Monika found their target, nestled in the largest structure. She pointed it out to Sayori, who nodded and readied her rifle. The two sprung into action, Monika drawing her Sicarus and killing off several lancers with a few well-placed burst shots, while Sayori laid down suppressing fire by spraying bullets with her Braton. [Try firing it in short bursts, it saves ammo that way.] Monika suggested to Sayori as she leaped up onto the bridged platform. Sayori followed after her, taking note of Monikas advice. They rushed the main structure, guards helpless to stop the onslaught. The last soldier was a more bulky trooper with a shotgun, stood between them and the console. In a swift movement, Monika readied a Launchpad Grenade, fastballing it towards the wall behind the trooper where it stuck and activated. With a well-placed kick, she propelled the trooper backwards into the grenade trap, which bounced him with enough force to send him flying face-first into the archway of the entrance with a rather nasty  _KLANG_. With the camp empty, the girls quickly start setting up the datamass. Once plugged in, Sudafet radios in to them. “Excellent, Operators Sayori and Monika! I will begin infiltrating the grineer network cluster! This should only take a moment. Please defend this console until I am finished!” 

 

An alarm rang out through the camp. A loud, boisterous voice came from the intercom speakers, calling Grineer lackeys to order.  **“GRINEER, THE TENNO HAVE BEEN POKING THEIR NOSES INTO BUSINESS THAT DOES NOT CONCERN THEM! CUT THESE WRETCHED MAGGOTS DOWN! CUT THEM DOOOOWN!”** Sayori braced herself, rifle trained on the entryway. Monika set up a few traps, Tesla grenades sticking to several points. Whatever came their way, they were ready. The first wave was handled easily enough. More grineer lancers that were easily dispatched with Monika and Sayori’s coordination. The second wave got a little tougher, hardened close-range troopers and rushing butchers kept the two on edge. Sudafet pinged them at the start of the third; “I am almost done, operators! Please continue to defend this console!” The two nodded, readying themselves for another attack. Lancer filtered in, but something was different. They were coordinated, guided, as if someone was giving them orders. Sure enough, a much larger figure stepped out from the forest; a body almost entirely reconstructed with heavy armor plating and hastily-thrown-together cybernetics, she carried a much larger weapon than the lancers they had seen before. 

 

The Heavy Gunner called out to the two, her voice just as garbled as the lancers under her command, but more forceful and direct, filled with malice. “Tenno! Grukt savd noor!” She hefted her heavy machine gun and began to fire, a spray of bullets ripping through the eroded front wall of the structure. The Lancers under the Gunners command began to advance, taking potshots at the newly opened gash in the fort wall. Monika acted quickly, tossing another two Tesla grenades out into the crowd, frying them. Sayori kept up with Monika well enough, subduing a trooper with one of her own powers, turning the trooping into a living battery that replenished both the girls’ energy reserves. A butcher moved in with his cleaver to try and take Sayori by surprise, but she was quicker. Jabbing him the midsection with her staff and slamming him overhead, knocking him out before his cleaver hit the ground. [Where’s the big one–GHHK] Monika had lost track of the gunner in the chaos, but she hadn’t gone far; a heavy punch to the vaubans midsection and the gunner was upon her. Though she didnt feel the punch personally, the shock that ran through the Vaubans nerves was enough to jolt her, making her lose her grip on the braton. 

 

Taken off-guard, Monika thought fast; latching another Tesla onto the gunner herself, hoping it would at least stun her. The gunner didn’t seem to be effected, shrugging off the arcs of electricity that coursed through her. It seemed to hurt, but not enough to stop her. The gunner tore the grenade from her shoulder and crushed it in her fist, destroying it. With her other hand she clenched the neck of the vauban and hoisted Monika upwards, the pneumatic pistons in the Gunners arm compressing the fingers harder and harder. Monika felt the air dissipate in her own lungs, unable to breath under the incredible vice grip the gunner had her in. Sayori, who had just finished picking off another lancer, turned and gasped. She frantically looked around for something to knock the gunner off-kilter, and noticed the cleaver laying on the ground from one of the lancers she fought earlier.

 

Picking it up, she held her lato pistol in the other hand, firing it at the gunner to grab its attention. The pistols bullets pinged off the Gunners armor, but she did seem annoyed enough to glance over in Sayori’s direction. Sayori threw the cleaver, and it sliced into the gunners face mask, its plasma filaments cutting and cauterizing the flesh beneath. She screamed, dropping Monika and writhing as Sayori prepared her next attack. The Launchpad grenade trap behind her still worked, and with a backward hop she launched herself at the Gunner, staff ready. The gunner was too busy trying to remove the cleaver to react, and as Sayori flew at her with blinding speed, she swung her staff like a bat, slamming into the cleaver and driving it further in the gunners face, into her skull. The gunner dropped to the floor, killed instantly. Sayori tried to halt her momentum, only to tumble to the floor and slam into a guard rail. [OOF–]

 

Sayori stood up, clutching her head. [I’m always bonking my head…ow…] Monika woozily began to get up as well, but Sayori quickly moved over to give her a hand. Monika accepted it, and was helped to her feet. [Are you okay?] Monika couldn’t see her expression through the transference, but the concern in her voice was sincere. [Yeah, I…I’m good. Thank you, Sayori.] Sayori gave Monika a quick hug, catching Monika off-guard. [I’m glad…I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt. You're the club president, you know? You're still the best at leading us...and even now, after everything…I care about you, okay? We gotta look out for each other...] The console buzzed, and Sudafet chimed in again. “Thank you, operators! I had collected enough data to patch in and decrypt grineer communications relays on both here and Mars! This will be invaluable. Please proceed to the evac point so I may take you to Cetus to meet up with Operators Natsuki and Yuri!” The girls gave each other a silent glance, and rushed off to the point Sudafet mentioned. 

 

Next stop, Cetus.


	8. Meet us at Cetus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After each finishing their respective missions the girls meet up at Cetus, a small Ostron colony of traders and merchants that against all odds has managed to survive Earths Grineer occupation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ostron patois:
> 
> Swazdo-lah: A common greeting  
> Sho-lah: Farewell  
> Surah: Friend  
> Dah-Dap: Thank you  
> Ai-yo: common exclamation. Could be thought of as "oh my".  
> Lok Heb: 'Hail!'  
> Chut: (request for) 'Silence!'  
> Kruna Metta: An Imploration. 'Please'  
> Khanung!: A warning.  
> Utz: A universal emphatic, appended to the end of a sentence. "I am happy utz" 'very'.  
> Doh-Ga: Urgency. 'Hurry!'

Natsuki was the first to arrive. The Liset hovered above the landing pad and dropped Natsuki off, reorienting itself to take off an pick up the next club member. The Rhino turned its head to get a good look at Cetus proper. It was a quaint little beach village, bustling with all sorts of people. Some villagers were on the beach, carving what looked to be blubber with long sickles. She was glad that her own personal senses were dulled inside the warframe, it must’ve smelled terrible. Behind her stood a tall ivory tower, adorned with gold trimmings and ornaments. Hot air balloons floated to and from it, carrying pieces of the blubber with them. [Are they…is that from the tower?] Natsuki shook her head. Clones, Samurai, and wall meat. It was a bit much. She moved down from the dock onto the beach, heading toward a stone staircase leading to the entrance. 

 

A small group of children rushed past her to the beach, playing with toy swords and masks. Between the nightmare of the Literature Club and how dead the relay was, she was taken aback by how lively this one small village was. Continuing up the stairs she was greeted with a bustling market, full of sights and sounds of people cooking and pawning their craft. It almost reminded her of the festival…which reminded her, the intelligence officer she had offed earlier happened to carry quiet a bit of currency on him. [Maybe I could grab a bite to eat here while I wait…] The pink rhino wandered through the market, moving through the crowd of villagers and following her nose. [If this is a fishing village then there has to be a…there!] Natsuki spotted a hut a little ways ahead of her that was set up like a beach grill, stools lining a counter with a lone cook frying up a fish she didn’t recognize. She got closer, intoxicated by the smell. The cook looked to be around his late thirties, minor burn scars and a strange-looking bite mark dotting his left arm. The rhino tapped the counter, and the chef held up a single finger, not taking his eye off the fish. “Swazdo-lah, Newcomer Tenno. Forgive my lacking customer service, but this dish takes some focus. Easy to mess up, utz.” 

 

Natsuki nodded, patiently waiting for him to finish sprinkling some seasoning onto the fish, shifting the pan slightly before tossing it up and catching it again. Satisfied with his culinary creation, the chef plated it and drizzled a light sauce over it. “Ah, yes, where were we, Tenno…the name is Kan-Lohg. You here to eat? You’ve come to the right place. Nobody cooks a fish like Kan-Lohg. Just let me get this order out–” He turns to the crowd, raising his voice and cupping his mouth. “Ai, who ordered the Sharrac? Its finished! Doh-ga, pay up and eat before it gets cold!” He returns to Natsuki. “Anyways, back to food. You see the menu above me, yes? What are you having?” Natsuki had trouble reading it, and even then there were just plenty of words she didn’t recognize. Murkray? Lungfish? Khut-Khut? She turned to point to the dish he had just served up, but it was gone, a stack of credits in its place. “Ey, Tenno, you alright? There a reason you aren’t using your words with me?” Natsuki pouted. “I’m a chef, not a charades master. Come on out of your shell and we’ll talk like grownups.” 

 

Natsuki froze, then tilted her head. Did she hear right? Did other people know about what the Tenno actually were? The rhino took a step back, giving herself room, and in a flash, Natsuki stepped out and was welcomed by the full brunt of the wonderful smell of Kan-Lohgs kitchen. “Ah. Shorter than I expected.” Kan-Lohg smirked. “Hmph". Natsuki hopped up onto a stool and looked over the menu again, annoyed that she had to deal with comments about her size as soon as she stepped out of her Rhino. She hefted the credit pack she swiped from the grineer onto the table. “I guess…I’ll have a little bit of everything.” Kan-lohg looked the pack over. “Heh, big spender, eh? Dah-dap, Tenno, I can appreciate that! You expecting some friends or something? This is a lot of fish for a Tenno so small.” Natsuki huffed, crossing her arms. “One, that’s none of  _YOUR_  business, and two, if you keep making comments about my size I’ll  _GLADLY_  take my money elsewhere…” Kan-lohg chuckled. “Oooh, a fireball, eh? Alright, I’ll keep my ‘little’ comments to myself. As for the friends that aren’t my business, the reason I ask is that there’s a better table overlooking the beach. Easier to hail them from there as they arrive. Just saying.” Natsuki leaned over the counter, looking to the table Kan-Lohg was talking about. “Hmn…” She hopped down, slipping back into her Rhino and positioning it closer to the table before sitting down, gazing out onto the sea. “I wonder who’ll get back first…” 

 

* * *

Sudafet dropped Yuri off, next. Sudafet had been congratulating her on the success of her mission, but she was too mired in her own thoughts. She had asked Sudafet to return to the orbiter to change out of her Ash before arriving, but Sudafet declined, explaining that it would take too long to make the trip back to orbit and back to Cetus. She gazed out to the sea, calm and shimmering under the late morning sun. She wanted to scratch at her wrists, unable to get her mind off the Ash’s internal blades lodged inside of it. The sensation she felt was similar to having a nasty splinter inside her skin and the urge to tear it out, but amplified. But now she was stuck with the frame, forced to mull over the constant turbulence of intrusive thoughts and self-doubt that came with it until she could change. She didn’t have any hair to play with in the ash, but she caught herself trying to act out the mannerism anyway out of habit. She was taken out her trance by a small voice calling to her from the village behind her.

 

“Heeeeey! Yuri! Up here!” Natsuki called down to her from the small restaurant table overlooking the docks. It took her a second, but she realized Natsuki had her rhino ‘parked’ next to the table. Was it really okay to be out of her frame in this village…? “C’mon Yuri! What took you so long?!” The ash nodded and slowly trekked her way up to the table Natsuki had called to her from. Timidly, Yuri slips out of her Ash, placing it next to Natsuki’s Rhino. Finally able to move around as herself, she sat at the table, unable to stop gently rubbing at her wrist. She still looked rather upset, something Natsuki was able to pick up on rather easily. “Hey, Yuri. Look! Lunch is on me! That officer dude was loaded, and this stuff is honestly AMAZING.” Yuri managed to dredge herself out of her own head and look at the food. It did look pretty good… “Mm. I suppose a bite to eat after a mission wouldn’t hurt…” She grabbed some utensils and began to eat, sampling a fillet of…something. After a few bites her scattered, worried thoughts began to melt away, now focused on how tasty the fish was. “Oh!” She thought aloud, practically a whisper. “I knoooow, right! That Kan-Lohg guy who runs the place really knows his stuff.” Yuri nodded. “True...Although, if I'm being honest, I still miss those cupcakes of yours”

 

Natsuki stopped mid-munch, not expecting the compliment. Yuri looked bothered by something before but… “W-well, yeah, of course! They were the best! You don't have to tell me that…” She resumed nibbling, her face a slight shade of pink. “Did something happen at Cambria?” Yuri paused for a second, trying to find a way to put her thoughts into words. Even in her head she had trouble making sense of it. “Well…let me ask you this; when you were using your own warframe, was there ever an instance where you didn’t feel quite in control?” Natsuki shook her head. “Not…really? I just feel bigger and stronger in mine. Like a badass…nothing like what you’re talking about…” Yuri turned to look at the Ash, standing statue-still as the two ate. “…I don’t these things are costumes, like Sayori described. There was a moment out there where…I felt I lost control. It felt like I was trapped in my own body, overcome with sensations and thoughts that weren’t mine.” She rubbed her wrist again. “It…reminded me of what happened before.” Natsuki furrowed her brow. “Thats…Yuri, I’m sure whatever happened it wasn’t really you, okay? We don’t really know what these things are…” She frowned. “We’ll get you into a new one before we head to Mars, okay? I can even help you pick it out…if you want…” Yuri smiled faintly, avoiding the pink-haired girls gaze but no longer fidgeting. “Ah…T-thank you, Natsuki. I appreciate your reassurance…” 

 

They continued to eat in relative silence, the hustle and bustle of the Cetus market and the sounds of the soft ocean making for some rather calming ambiance. Before long, Sayori and Monika had returned as well. Natsuki called out to them as well, Yuri politely waving to them as they approached the table. Sayori practically hopped out of her Trinity at the sight of lunch. “Uwoaaaah! So much good food! Where did you find all this?” Natsuki grinned, proud of herself. “Lets just say that Officer I found was carrying a pretty fat wallet.~” Sayori began to chow down immediately. Monika was reluctant at first, not sure if she should bother eating in a place like this, but decided to sit and nibble at some strange-looking fruit. It tasted much better than she was expecting, a nice, simple thing to enjoy amidst the weight of existential dread sitting in her stomach. The conversations shifted into the girls all discussing their respective missions, and what they had learned. Natsuki had discovered that the leader of Mars’ current occupation was a lieutenant and Grineer war hero by the name of Lech Kril, holed up on Mars in a near-impenetrable fortress. Fortunately, due to the data Yuri recovered, and the network taps Sudafet installed with the help of Monika and Sayori, they found a weak point; an armored transport railway that brought supplies through to the fortress. 

 

“Sooo…” Natsuki began drumming her hands on the table, piecing it all together. “We’re gonna steal a train?” Sudafet chimed in, eager to explain. “Indeed. operator Natsuki! We shall commandeer the armored transport, use it to gain access to Lech Kril’s fortress, and then assassinate him!” Sayori looked pleased, piling up the dishes from their meal in a neat stack at the center of the table. “We’ll be playing cowboys! Heisting trains, bringing badguys to justice!” Yuri shook her head. “Weren’t the ones who heisted trains usually the bad guys?” Sayori paused, thinking it over. “Yeah, but if its the bad guys train, then we must be the good guys!” Yuri chuckled as Monika focused on Sudafet. “So…do we have everything we need?” Sudafet produces a holographic image of a strange-looking device. “Not quite! In order to hijack the train, we need a grineer clearance key-node. The Grineer inhabiting the frontier of earth do not have high-enough clearance, typically, but the Grineer of the plains are of Councilor Vay Hek’s personal contingent! They should have the clearance necessary to gain control of the transport!” Monika leaned back into her chair. “I’m assuming this is where Konzu comes in, yeah? He would know  a Grineer with a key-node, so we take him out, and we get what we need and do Cetus a favor at the same time.” Sudafet blinked happily. “Correct, Operator Monika! You took the words straight from my synthesizers!” Monika was the first to stand, clearly itching to move on.

 

The girls set their dishes aside and thanked Kan-Lohg for the meal, and he waved them off as they searched for Konzu. “Sho-lah, Tenno!”

 

 

* * *

It didn’t take long for the girls to find the village elder. Standing near the large gate that protected the village was an old man, staff in hand, and a bounty board behind him. Seeing the four new frames approach him, he waved introduced himself. “Swazo-do lah, Tenno! How can old Konzu help you today? You looking for work? Cetus is always in need of some hired guns.” Monika nodded, stepping out of her Warframe to speak in person. “Yes, we’re looking for something the Grineer have called a key-node? Do you know if there would be any Grineer nearby that would have one?” Konzu thought for a moment, stroking his chin as he pondered. “Well…a few of my regulars recently took out a high-ranking Grineer…It’s created a power gap in their infrastructure. Couple upstarts with bold ideas and fiery tempers. One of them might have the kind of key-node you need.” Monika took a mental note. “Okay, that’s a start. Do you have anything else on these ‘upstarts’?” Konzu pointed behind the group, to a pair of figures that seemed to be using warframes themselves. “Those two are my regulars, Ketten and Telm. Strong pair utz. A bit rude, but strong. They’re the ones who took down the commander, so they should be more familiar with the details of the Grineers command structure right now. I’ll be sure to pay you once you return. The less coordinated the Grineer are out there, the better.” 

 

Monika nodded as she melded with her Vauban again, and the girls walked over to where Ketten and Telm stood, apparently in the middle of a conversation. [We’re not equipped to take down and eid–Oh.] The two frames turned to face the girls. The first, who had been talking, was the shorter of the two. The frame they used had a feminine figure  and seemed to be wrapped up, a set of small optics peering at the group underneath the layers covering its head. A pair of ornate-looking revolvers were strapped to their hips. The second was much larger, a hulking brute that stood taller than even Natsuki’s Rhino. It’s proportions were strange, massive shoulders and long legs connected to a torso built like a sheer cliff face, with no neck connecting its head. The head itself was adorned with the pattern of a crudely-painted skull. Each of the girls felt themselves being sized up by the pair, obviously having seen countless fights on the plains and beyond. Natsuki crossed her rhinos arms and stared down the larger of the two, determined to not let herself feel intimidated. Yuri felt uncomfortable from the stares, turning her head to instead focus on the market nearby. It didn’t help. Sayori was too enamored with the pair to realize she was being stared at.

 

[Do you…need something? I’m trying to have a discussion with my partner Telm, here.] The smaller frame motioned to the larger. Monika spoke up first, having trouble discerning who she assumed to be Ketten. [Sorry, sorry…We’re uh, looking for a Grineer with key-node? Konzu told us to check with you for leads.] Ketten shrugged, looking to Telm for their answer. The larger frame crossed its arms, not breaking eye contact with Natsuki, apparently too focused to realize they were being addressed. [Telm? Hey–] Ketten poked the frame in its midsection, shaking its focus and breaking the staring contest between Natsuki and Telm. Natsuki took it as a small victory, smirking quietly in the transference ether. Telm turned to Ketten and silently pulled up the map of the plains, pointing to the mountain depicted in the top right corner. [Nang.] Ketten tilted their head, trying to figure out what Telm meant. [Oh, right. Mount Nang has a Grineer fort built on it. Apparently a toadie of the commander we squashed is holed up there trying to hold everything down in the chaos. He’ll probably have one. Is that good? Are we done here?] Monika didn’t like Kettens tone (or whatever the telepathic equivalent of a ‘tone’ would be) but she did end up getting the info she needed. [Yes, thank you! C’mon everyone, we’re heading to Mount Nang next.]

 

With that, girls headed for the gate. Compared to the quaint city it surrounded, it was rather ornate. Golden locks and complicated machinery adorned its surface, all ticking and rotating to open the massive door as the club approached the gate. Konzu briefly waved to them as they stepped through the first door, calling out to them. “Try not to stay out until dark, eh Tenno? Spirits of an old, shattered beast haunt the plains at night.” Sayori waved back to him as the first gate door sealed, locking behind them. […Did konzu say spirit?] More talk of ghosts. Maybe this world wasn’t as pleasant as Sayori thought. [I’m sure the old guy was trying to scare us. There’s no such thing as ghosts.] Natsuki reassured Sayori and cracked her knuckles in anticipation as the second gate began unlocking. Yuri nodded, readying her bow. [Lets see what we can all do as a team, okay guys?] The second gate unlocked, its doors parting. Everyone was taken aback by the wide swath of land that lay before them, untouched by earths overgrown forests. A much larger area than they were expecting.

 

[So these are the plains, huh?] Natsuki readied her shotgun. [Lets get that key-node then.]


	9. Plains and Simple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls venture out into the plains in search of the means to sneak into Mars airspace. Little do they know that monsters lurk just beneath the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! First chapter I've written since moving to AO3. The first eight were all written up on tumblr back to back, and I ended up burning out for two months before writing up this chapter. Hopefully my rustyness doesn't show too much. Happy Khora (PC) release also! I also made some Captura images for the chapter here! https://hoo-fuggin-boy.tumblr.com/post/173171554861/doki-doki-operator-club-chapter-nine-plains-and
> 
> (As a side note if ya'll have any constructive criticism I'd be glad to hear it. I kinda feel like I'm just treading water here with not knowing what I'm doing good or bad. This series has been my first foray into any sorta serious narrative so...yeah.)

Sayori gasped as she took in the view of the plains from the front gate. The afternoon sun hung in the clear sky overhead, shining down over the vast expanse. Unlike the jungles covering the majority of this Earth, the plains outside of Cetus were much more tame, dotted with familiar-looking trees, bushes and strange, horned monoliths that jutted from the ground amid what must have been craters from a battle long ago. Yuri was also taken aback by the beauty of the plains, focusing moreso on the strange objects half-buried in the ground. Flakes of material drifting off of them on the wind like leafs in autumn. Natsuki and Monika, though intrigued, were more intent on finding this ‘Keynode’. 

 

[So...] Natsuki spoke up. [Anyone know where this ‘Mount Nang’ is?] Monika shrugged, pinging up Sudafet. “Is there a map of the plains we could use?” Instead of Sudafet answering, they were greeted by the voice of Konzu, the village elder who they had met before. “Ah, Lok-heb Tenno! Konzu may be able to help, if you permit him.” Natsuki crossed her arms. [Oh, and who said you could call us up on this channel, huh?] Sudafet, as Sudafet am want to do, chimed in. “I did! I thought it would be efficient to let Konzu in on this channel to aid us, as he is a local who understands the terrain and manages the Cetus bounty network!” If Natsuki’s Rhino had eyes to roll, they would be rolling. Yuri shared Natsuki’s sentiment. [I understand your reasoning, Sudafet, but please let us know when you let someone in on this comm channel...] Sudafet didnt reply. Whether she heard Yuri, or cared, was left a mystery.

 

[Aaaaanyways...] Sayori stood on her tippy toes, hoping it would give her just enough height to get a better look at the mountains, but they were just too far away. [The mountains are that way. We just need to know which one has the Grineer guy, right? Do you know which one, Konzu?] Konzu grunted in reply, fiddling with his communication setup. “Yes, tenno-surah, Mount Nang is to the far to the south-east of Cetus’ gates, past a few grineer outposts and mining sites. Fortunately, due to Ketten and Telm causing a...management mixup, they’ve been disorganized, focusing more on their own internal affairs while a potential new up-and-comer tries to take charge.” Monika was able to pull up a map, sent in by Konzu. A marker appeared at the structure on top of Mount Nang, pointing them in the right direction. “So, knowing this...” A line began to draw out from the girls location, winding past the various landmarks and Grineer bases. “...if you follow the line Konzu has drawn out for you, you should get to the base without much trouble. Just remember, doh-ga, try to get back here before Sundown, eh tenno?” Monika nodded. [We appreciate it, Konzu. Thanks for the tip.] Konzu chuckled. “So polite, utz! I’ll see you later, Tenno-surah!” With that, Konzu pinged out, leaving the girls to their long trek to Mount Nang.

 

* * *

 

Monika led the group, followed by Sayori, with Natsuki and Yuri trailing behind. Aside from the distant whirring of Grineer mining equipment, the plains were quiet, the wind rustling the trees and the distant cawing of birds overhead. Following Konzu’s route, they had managed to make it most of the way towards the mountain without much trouble. [Its so pretty here! I could just sit here and watch the clouds all day...] Sayori had a spring in her step. Since touching down on Earth, she had been acting so much happier. Even Monika, who had been dismissive of the new world she found herself in earlier, was starting to warm up to it. Natsuki hadn’t been paying attention, too focused on Yuri to admire the scenery. She had been acting...distant since arriving in Cetus. Moreso than usual. The tricloptic gaze of the Ash seemed to stare straight ahead, towards their destination, but the frames posture was familiar; Yuri was deep in thought. Natsuki couldn’t help but worry, thinking about how uncomfortable the Ash seemed to make her feel. Whatever had happened on her mission must have been major, considering what she had seen and done prior to this. 

 

Natsuki wanted to reassure her again, but hesitated. She wasn’t sure she could really have a private conversation in her warframe, not being sure how talking inside them actually worked, and knowing Yuri there would be no way she’d talk about how she was feeling with everyone listening. And even then...could Natsuki handle it without screwing it up? Even she knew that she wasn't the most...delicate when it came to consoling people. She shook her head. _''Don't overthink this, Natsuki. Its not that big of a deal. All we need to do is punch a dude out, steal his keys, and get back to the ship. Then you can help Yuri out...'_ She gave Yuri, who was still spacing out, another glance. It didn't put her at ease. She tapped the Ash's shoulder, causing Yuri to jolt for a split second before realizing it was just Natsuki. The rhino gave Yuri a thumbs up and a head-tilt, as if to ask "You good?" To which Yuri shakily nodded. The two walked together now, more at ease in each others company.

 

Monika, on the other hand, was experiencing a different sensation. She didn't pick up on it at first, right after her arrival, but she noticed something strange; time was passing differently here. It had felt like the group had been travelling for at least an hour along Konzu's route, making sure to avoid the larger encampments, but after staring at the sky for a few moments she realized that the sun was moving way faster across the sky than it should have been. Was this a side-effect of knowing this was a game? Being conscious to the fact that time in this place and 'real' time passed differently? Monika shook her head. The whole thing was causing her to feel slightly nauseous. _[Monika, are you okay?]_ Monika could feel Sayori's soft voice through the transference weave, snapping her out of her surreal moment. The vauban shook its head and glanced at Sayori. [Yeah, I just...feel off.] Sayori nodded, looking up at the sky. [Me too.] Monika didn't respond. She hoped Sayori meant she just felt disoriented from the last few wild hours they had. By now the girls had probably all caught onto the situation they were in, but her ability to perceive the limits and edges of this artificial reality were supposed to be her cross to bear. She had seen what it had done to Sayori, and hoped that she had shattered the Literature Clubs script in time to prevent Sayori from fully understanding the curse of being Club President, to be able to truly see what Monika saw. 

 

* * *

 

The girls arrived, the evening sun glowing orange as the daylight started to wane. The group scoped the fort out, seemingly empty and littered with Grineer mining junk. Seemingly abandoned, dotted by several mounds of dirt dotting the earth around the equipment. [Sudafet?] Monika called out. [Can you tell me anything about this fort? It looks abandoned, but the grineer don’t seem like the type to just give up a piece of land like this.] Audible whirring could be heard on the line as Sudafet processed the request. “Long range scans show multiple pockets of disturbed earth at the Nang Fort location! It seems likely that these pockets are graves, dug when Telm and Ketten disrupted the local command and slaughtered many, many Grineer! Unfortunately, due to the innate residual energy of the Plains themselves, I am unable to provide more details. Proceed with caution!” 

 

[...Do the grineer seem the type to bury their dead?] Yuri wondered aloud. [It doesn't seem like a militaristic empire of clones would have that sort of respect for the fallen...] Natsuki shrugged, kicking the dirt of one of the mounds. [What else would they be? The 'sprits' the old man told us about?] Sayori shook her head. [D-don't even joke about that, Natsuki! That would be horrible! Ghosts are super scary...] She couldn't help but notice the sun start to get lower on the horizon, and all the talk of spirits was really starting to freak her out. [We should hurry and get that key-node, o-okay?] Monika nodded. [Yeah, keep focused everyone. There's no way this Grineer wouldn't be able to secure a leadership position if they didn't have something up their sleeve.] Natsuki punched her gauntlets together, eager for a fight. [Whatever they've got, we can take. Right Yuri?] Yuri drew her bow, preparing herself for a fight. The group moved further towards the fort, past the piles of scrap and debris, not a Grineer in sight. The group almost had half a mind to turn back before floodlights and harsh speaker static assaulted their senses, with Yuri almost dropping her bow. Amid the harsh light, the silhouette of a lone figure stood at the entrance.

 

"TEEEEEENNO SKOOM! YOU INTRUDE! FORT NANG IS GRINEER PROPERTY! CAPTAIN KOR-TAHG PROPERTY!" The grineer made exaggerated gestures as it spoke, obviously enjoying the chance to talk down to Tenno. The captain pulled a small device the size of a badge from his chest. "KOR-TAHG KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! TENNO ALWAYS WANT! TAKE AND TAKE! TENNO WANT KEY-NODE? CAN'T HAVE IT!" Kor-Tahg tauntingly waved the key-node at the group. "KOR-TAHG WILL GIVE YOU ONE CHANCE! LEAVE FOR CETUS! GO BACK AND KOR-TAHG WILL HAVE MERCY ON YOU TENNOSKOO--hhURRHK" An arrow hit the captain in the chest, causing him to stumble. Though hurt, he still managed to keep on his feet. The group turned to Yuri, who looked sheepish. [I-I just-- He was going on and on, and I saw a chance to-- I thought I could have gotten him in one shot. I was just...I thought it would have looked impressive...] Natsuki's Rhino shuddered as she stifled a giggle, with Sayori placing a hand on Yuri's shoulder. [It was still a really good shot, Yuri!] The captain hid behind a metal strut, calling out again. "FINE! YOU DON'T LEAVE? YOU WILL BE GHOUL-FOOD!" The lights dimmed, and the forts intercom crackled with a low static.

 

[Ghoul...?] Sayori didn't even have time to finish her question before the mounds of dirt erupted, unleashing a horde of twisted and malformed figures. Screeching and screaming guttural noises as they arose from the earth, taking in their first ragged gasp of air since they had been buried and incubated. The quiet static of the intercom had been overcome with the sound of gnashing teeth and whirring mechanical limbs. The girls stood back-to-back, bracing themselves for whatever would come as the Ghouls began to surround them. What they did not expect however, was an attack from below. The ground shuddered and erupted as two whirring drills, followed by the ghoul they were bolted to, leaped up from the dirt, knocking the girls in different directions. The Augur Ghoul shrieked as it charged for Natsuki, drills spinning full-speed. She barely had time to catch her balance before the ghoul was upon her, jabbing both drills into her chest. Instinctively, Natsuki clenched her fists and braced for impact, and in a split second the Rhino was coated in a layer of it's Iron Skin. The drills clashed with the void-infused metal, dulling and ruining the drill bits. Natsuki took her chance and sent a massive, Furax-clad fist into the ghouls face, launching it backwards with a very audible crunch. It did not get back up. 

 

Yuri silently thanked her Ash for being built with such instinctual agility, because lord knows these swift dodges weren't coming from her own personal athleticism. The ghoul in front of her was fast, but too eager. Its tongue lolled out as it tried to cut Yuri with a massive gas-powered saw, swinging wildly as Yuri continued to evade. Hearing a telltale whirring behind her, she rolled to the left as another Augur leaped at her drills-first, causing the two ghouls to collide and mangle each other on their own hardware. Yuri used the brief respite to look over the fort again, scanning for the captain. [Where is he...] She slowly crept along a scuttled dropship, managing to avoid the ghouls as she made her way towards the fort. [If I can get that key...we don't need to stay and fight these...things.] 

 

Monika and Sayori were the only ones who had managed not to get separated, using their abilities in tandem like before to keep the ghouls at a distance. Monika remained calm and collected, Dropping Ghouls who managed to brave the minefield of Tesla grenades, while Sayori was having trouble. [T-these things scare me, Monika! I wanna go home--] A Rictus swung its saw in a heavy downward arc onto Sayori, who narrowly managed to block it with her Bo staff. It chittered and gurgled gibberish as it began to press down, slowly overwhelming her as Monika was distracted with fending off another Augur. [Monika? H-help?! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease--] An arrow flew out of the shadows and pierced the skull of the Rictus with a _THOK,_ and after a few spasms the creature went limp. Heaving it to the side, she just managed to catch a glimpse of Yuri's Ash as it disappeared back into the deep shadows of the forts junkpiles. [T-thank you Yuri! ANother great shot!] Monika moved to grab Sayori by the hand and began to lead her to another pile of wreckage. [We need to get to the fort and find that key, cmon.] After managing to lose track of the ghouls, the two managed to catch a breather. [W-where's Natsuki?] 

 

A heavy clang, followed by more guttural screeching gave Sayori her answer. [I'm doing fine, guys!] _CHK-CHOONK. CHK-CHOONK._ [These jerks think they can take me but they obviously don't know they're going up against a pro! Hurry up and get that key!] Before Monika could respond, Sudafet interrupted her, alerting the ghouls to Sayori and Monika's position. "Hello, Tenno Operators! After taking my findings to Konzu, it appears the mounds of dirt are not graves, but are in fact Ghoul incubation sites! Please be sure to--" [NOT NOW, SUDAFET.] Monika turned to Sayori, surveying the fort grounds. Natsuki was still throwing down, and Yuri remained unseen. [Okay...on three, we make a break for the fort. Okay?] Sayori nodded. [Just don't leave me behind, okay?] Monika gave a thumbs up in reply. [Never...Three...] Sayori clutched her staff close to her chest, regulating her breathing. She almost didn't see the frail figure shambling toward her. Deep, shrunken sockets and hungry eyes, this ghoul was different...rather than an imposing weapon, two pods of strange orange devices were strapped to its arms.  [Two...] thinking quickly, Sayori let go of her staff and drew her Lato, aiming at the creature. Rather than attack, it simply raised its arms up to its face, blocking the shot with the strange pods. Sayori squeezed the trigger. [One--] The bullet impacted the Expired's pod, causing it to violently explode in a massive fireball and obliterating the girls cover. Their Frames' shields had taken most of the blow, but they were still disoriented and exposed. [RUN!] They both dizzily ran for the fort, dodging more Expired and Augur strikes as they passed. 

 

As tough as her Rhino's Iron Skin was, the repeated lashing and striking from her opponents began to chip away the defensive shell Natsuki had formed over her warframe. Another Augur, lancing towards her with vicious speed, only for Natsuki to grab it by the shoulders and knee its distorted face against the Rhinos armored hide, crushing it. A rictus flung its sawblade only for the Rhino to swiftly brush it aside, where it buried itself in a steel beam. More the Expired began to filter in, rushing up to Natsuki and trying to detonate on her. A blast to the legs felled one, then another, but her Strun finally ran out of ammunition. Thinking quickly Natsuki let one of the expired close in before decking it in the face and grabbing it by the shoulders, spinning and flinging it towards another horde, where it exploded. [As much as I like mopping the floor with you chumps...] larger tears in her Iron Skin were beginning to form. [...You're starting to BORE ME! C'MON! SHOW ME HOW YOU FIGHT A PRO!] The ghouls had begun to encircle Natsuki, closing in. But before they could leap into the frenzy, rabidly biting and snarling, a massive guttural roar rang out from the refuse piles, silencing them. Natsuki turned to the source, and as the crowd of Ghouls parted, a massive hulking beast of a ghoul stepped into the circle to meet her. Natsuki slammed her Furax together. [Alright...THATS more like it! Come and get it, ugly!] 

 

Yuri quietly tracked the captain, who aside from unleashing the Ghouls didn't really have much of a plan. It was a long hike down from the fort, and if the ghouls had one flaw in their design, it was their inability to distinguish friend form foe. Kor-Tahg hurried into the tunnels beneath the fort, hoping to wait out the horrors of plains beneath the ground. Unfortunately for Kor-Tahg, the cave beneath the Mt Nang fort only had one exit; the way he came in from. Drawing her Skana, she crept up to the ill-fated captain. The wound Yuri inflicted earlier, while not immediately fatal, was still painful, puncturing a lung and destroying vital life-support implants in Kor-Tahgs chest. His breathes were painful and ragged, and he had trouble holding up his Hind rifle in an attempt to hold the Ash off. "Back, Tenno--khHH-- Tennoskoom...Come no closer--HRK" He pulled the trigger of the burst-rifle and sent of flurry of bullets in a wild arc in Yuri's direction, but the shots that would have connected were easily deflected by the skana. [I'll be taking that key-node, thank you very much.] She quickly snatched the key-node from the captains grasp, easily dodging his retaliation attempt as he swung his arm out. [Farewell, captain.] With a single jab, Kor-Tahgs short-lived military career ended. [Monika? Sayori? I have the key. Let Natsuki know that we should get out of here!] 

 

* * *

 

 [Easier said than done, Yuri. Natsuki's...preoccupied.] Monika and Sayori had managed to take shelter in the fort proper, away from the ghouls circling Natsuki's fight. The remaining ghouls seemed disinterested in the other girls now, carefully watching their pack alpha take on the bright pink Rhino. The two stared each other down for a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. [Alright then, I guess I'll go first.] In a flash, Natsuki charged forward, sending her Rhino speeding into the Ghoul like a massive bullet. Her fist connected with the heavily calloused stomach of the ghoul, but it remained unphased. [Wh--] Natsuki struck again, but her Furax was blocked by the hooks of the gauntlet bolted onto the Ghouls forearm. She tried pressing harder, hoping to break its guard, but the winches welded to the beasts shoulders matched her Rhino's strength. Too focused on overpowering the Ghoul, Natsuki didn't realize the ghouls other arm came sweeping in for a counterattack. The heavy alloy hooks slashed across her weakening Iron Skin, scratching off more of the plating and digging into the exposed patches of the Rhinos hide. Natsuki buckled under the sudden, sharp pain she felt in her shoulder, allowing the ghoul to strike with the hand it used to block Natsuki's initial attack. The second set of hooks, now propelled by the tension released from the winches, dug into the Rhinos midsection. Natsuki cried out, panicking now that her Rhino was starting to fail her. She made several wild strikes on the Devourer, ineffective punches against the monsters upper torso. It heaved the Rhino up, bringing the frame face to face with it, and grinned. Natsuki only had time to register that this thing had way too many teeth before it flung her across the makeshift arena. 

 

Yuri made her way back out of the tunnels only to see Natsuki being flung around by the Devourer, gashes torn in her Rhino's hide. [N-Natsuki?! Is she okay? We need to do something!] Monika tapped her fingers on her rifle, struggling to come up with a plan. Her thoughts being drowned out by the constant cheering and chittering of the ghouls as well as the sounds of Natsuki's fight. [Ooh! I have an idea!] Sayori sprang up, clapping her hands together as the plan began to form in her head. [Okay, what's your idea, Sayori?] She pointed towards one of the expired, who shuffled excitedly as the Devourer slammed into Natsuki before she could get up. [We throw one of those into the big one! There's no way it'll be able to handle an explosion like that!] Monika and Yuri nodded. [Good start, Sayori. But how do we pull that off without it blowing up on us first?] Sayori crossed her arms, the Trinity's posture suggesting she was deep in thought. [It'll be tricky, for sure...buuuut-] She pointed at Yuri. [Yuri, with your super special sneakyness, you could probably get behind the explodey one and take it out without the rest noticing. Then, before it goes off, Monika-] Sayori mimed a baseball pitch. [You can use that bouncy thing you used in the jungle to launch it into the big guy!] The two other girls were stunned for a second, forgetting that while Sayori had a tendency to be silly and clumsy, she _was_ vice-president for a reason. [Alright. Lets do it.]

 

 Natsuki slammed her fist into the ground, trying to prop herself up. This was looking bad. She felt the searing pain of the gashes left by the Devourer as if they were torn into her own skin, and she was getting frustrated. She was supposed to be invincible in this thing, dammit! The Ghoul had slowed down, now, dragging the fight out after knowing it had gotten the upper hand. Its heavy footsteps grew closer, and it uttered a series of low, rapid grunts. [Is that thing...laughing at me? Ghn-] She slowly rose to her feet, and the crowd of Ghouls jeered. [You think you can laugh at me? Because I'm smaller than you?! Because you think I'm weaker than you?!] Her fists clenched, and her muscles tensed. She wouldn't let this greaseball beat her, no way in hell. The ghouls posture shifted, and the jet turbine bolted to its spine began to rev up. It roared as the turbine propelled towards her. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she met the Ghoul head on. [DON'T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE ME!] With a stomp, the Rhino bellowed out an incredibly loud roar to match the ghoul, her frames body becoming enveloped in a pulsating yellow light. She was furious, directing her remaining energy and her entire body into a massive, singular punch. Unlike the first time she struck, the inertia of the ghouls massive body was completely negated and countered by the raw, legendary power of the rhino. The ghoul stopped dead in its tracks, the punch knocking the wind out of the beast and causing Natsuki's heels to dig into the ground as it sprawled backwards. While it was stunned, the girls acted. [NATSUKI!! DUCK!!] 

 

Operating on adrenaline, Natsuki reflexively dove for the ground as a strange shape flung towards the Devourer. Neither of them had enough time to register what that shape was before it exploded. The force of the detonating ghoul sent Natsuki tumbling backward, where Sayori was waiting to catch her. [C'mon Natsuki! We got the key! We can go now!] Natsuki could only nod as Sayori helped her up. Monika and Yuri weren't far behind. The sun had just set over the horizon, and they didn't have long before the ghouls reorganized themselves after the explosion. They ran. They ran and ran and ran, down the cliff as the ghouls caught onto what had happened. Night had fallen, and the ghouls were at their heels. Sayori swore she saw a massive shape wrapped in blue light rise from the lake, but there was no time to stop and ask questions. As if expecting them, the locks on the golden gate to Cetus began to click and rotate, and the massive doors opened. Yuri made it in first, with Sayori and Natsuki close behind. Monika brought up the rear, but before she could cross the gates threshold, a long slimy appendage wrapped around her wrist. It was taut, and looked braided like steel rope. Monika tried to struggle against it, but its pull was stronger. She looked over her shoulder to find the Devourer, skin scorched and missing an arm, but still very much alive. And very, very angry. It began to reel in its tongue, slowly pulling Monika back out into the plain. [G-guys?] Sayori was preoccupied with tending to Natsuki, leaving Yuri the only one capable of doing something in the tiny window before the gate closed. [U-uh!] She panicked, and her Ash's instincts took over. In a flash of smoke, she appeared above the ghoul, Skana drawn. The Devourer had been too focused on Monika to react as Yuri slashed through the tongue, severing it. Monika freed herself from the tangle of the Ghouls tongue and rushed inside. [Yuri! The door! Hurry!] Yuri returned to clarity the moment she touched the ground, clumsily sprinting back through the gate as it closed. The devourer pursued her, launching forward with its turbine, but it was still too slow. The gate shut, separating the beast from the girls and locking into place. They were safe.

 

[Can we get back onto the ship now? Please?] Everyone was exhausted. Natsuki needed to get out of her warframe and rest, and Yuri was desperate to change out of hers. Sayori was physically okay, but she felt restless after being stuck in the transference weave for so long. Monika sighed, taking a seat next to a pillar as the locks on the second gate began to shift into place. [...Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.]

 

* * *

 

 

On the other side of the gate, the Devourer pounded against the ancient Orokin machinery. It's struggle throughout the evening had not gone unnoticed. Hovering a good dozen meters away was a Grineer propaganda drone, keenly analyzing the Devourer specimen. The data it had recorded was being broadcast to multiple monitors in an undisclosed grineer fortress in the jungle. Two glowing beady orange eyes surveyed the footage gleefully. **"THIS GHOULS PERFORMANCE...WAS EXEMPLARY. SO VERY...VERY DEDICATED TO TENNOCRUSHING, UNLIKE THAT COWARDLY FAILURE KOR-TAHG...MAGNIFICENT."** A head on a long snake-like neck turned towards a group of Grineer troopers awaiting their orders. **"BRING IT TO ME. THIS GHOUL DESERVES A PROMOTION. AND AN UPGRADE!"**


	10. Needing some space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their experience in the plains, Monika attempts to check on her club members...with mixed results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF, been a while. Sorry for the wait, folks! I've been feeling bogged down with work lately. 
> 
> This chapter is a sort of interlude between Earth and Mars. Hope it reads alright. I'll try not to take so long writing the next chapter where more S t u f f starts to happen. 
> 
> At any rate, seeya next time!

Konzu was the first to greet the girls as they returned to Cetus. He was more than happy to pay for the bounty on Kor-Tahg, as well as offer a meal for the girls should they wish to stay in Cetus for a while longer. None of the girls seemed in the mood to eat, with their run through the Plains being as stressful as it was. With a final farewell from the village elder, Sudafet was able to pick up the group and take them back to the Orbiter. The trip back was quiet, everyone being all sorts of exhausted. Sudafet waited until the girls were back in the Orbiter and out of their frames before prompting them for the Key-node. "Operator Monika, I understand you and your team were successful in finding a Grineer clearance Key-node! Shall I analyze and counterfeit our own clearance codes with it?" Monika held the strange lumpy device in her hand, looking it over. "...Yeah, sure. Where do you need me to put it?" The navigation console flickered. "Simply plug it into the navigation port and I shall take it from there! It will take time to ensure the new codes seem authentic, so in the mean time..." Sudafet whirred, as if she just finished processing something. "...perhaps you could check in with the other members of your team! The emotional wellbeing of your teammates is incredibly important to maintaining combat efficiency!"

 

* * *

 

Monika frowned. Organizing the club and keeping its members busy with activities had been one thing, but she had never been good with...the emotional side of things. Aside from it being outside of her own wheelhouse, Natsuki and Yuri more than likely only tolerated her because of Sayori. She sighed. She had to try though, right? She had to make it up to them somehow, after all the horrible things she did. Checking in on them might not have been the easiest first step, but it was one she  _had_  to take. She couldn't let Sayori bear the brunt of the clubs emotional labor like Monika had relied on her for in the past...not after what had happened. "Not after what I did to her..." she muttered. Deciding to go through with it was the easy part. Now Monika had to decide who to start with. Sayori would probably be the easiest to deal with, as gentle as she was. That just left Yuri and Natsuki...Monika didn't really have a preference, both of them were bound to be difficult to handle in their own ways. She sighed. She'd leave it up to whoever she ran into first.

 

As luck would have it, Natsuki was the first one she ran into. Her frame had been torn into by the ghouls pretty severely, even with Sayori's Trinity administering its healing powers. Thankfully, Natsuki herself was physically unharmed. She had been sitting around at the armory, near her Rhino. Without her manga or baking utensils, Natsuki had trouble trying to figure out what to do with her downtime in the orbiter.  _'"f we ever visit Cetus again, I'm gonna have to ask Kan-Lohg about baking supplies..."_  she thought. She gently rubbed her shoulder. Even though the wounds were on her Rhino, her own body seemed to feel some sort of phantom pain.   _"Stupid Monika and her stupid mission..."_  She barely noticed Monika had entered the room, jolting to attention suddenly, her expression shifting from thoughtful to terse.

"Oh...Monika. What do you want?" 

"Oh! I just...wanted to check in on you! See how you were doing and all. As club president I want to make sure everyone's doing oka--"

Natsuki dismissively rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."

Monika looked at the Rhino next to Natsuki, still covered in the scars from the battle Natsuki fought earlier. "It looked like you really took a beating when you were fighting the ghoul...I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright!"

Natsuki crossed her arms and glared. "Why wouldn't I be? It's not like my life was just pulled out from under me because _someone_ wanted to woo some loser, right?"

Monika stuttered. This was definitely not going well. "U-uhm..."

 

She silently cursed herself. This was harder than she thought "...We're going to have another long journey once we hit Mars, so I just want to make sure you're feeling alright. I know everyone is probably a little scared and confused and just exhausted right now, so I want to try and be there for anyone who wants to talk about whatever's on their mind."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Natsuki continued to glare. "Is this your attempt to make up for killing me or something? Because it really sucks." Natsuki balled her fists. "Is that the best you can do? Small talk? Trying to play team therapist after you screwed with our heads?" She angrily strode over to the Arsenal panel and began flipping through the other available frames. "The fact that you're trying to get some mushy heart-to-heart out of me after everything you've done pisses me off." She turned to glance back at Monika again. "I'm fine. That's all you're getting out of me. I'll be ready for Mars, so just leave me alone." Monika sighed, and nodded. There wasn't much else to say, so she strode past the Arsenal into the lower deck area of the ship in search of Yuri. 

 

* * *

 

"I guess that went as well as I could have expected..." Monika muttered to herself, quietly. Monika couldn't really fault her though, Natsuki had every reason to distrust her. "Now, to find Yuri..." Knowing her, she was some place quiet, with a book if she could help it. Monika pondered her options. To the front and left of her were doors she hadn't checked initially, and on her right were the living quarters of the Orbiter. She decided to check the quarters first, it being the most familiar room to all of them. The door hissed gently as its panels split open, and sure enough, Yuri was sitting by the window gazing out at Space. She looked distant and anxious, clearly stuck inside her own head. While this wasn't out of the ordinary for Yuri, the intensity of her gaze told Monika that something was clearly bothering her more than usual. Clutched tight in Yuri's hand was a datapad, displaying something she couldn't quite read from where she was standing. Monika noticed that the sound of the door opening hadn't broken Yuri from her thoughts, so she decided to knock on the frame again to avoid startling her. "Hey there, Yuri!"

 

Yuri's expression shifted drastically, fumbling with the datapad in her hands as she turned to face Monika. "O-oh, hello Monika, I was just..." She looked back at the datapad. "...reading." Monika approached, leaning on the opposite edge of the window frame from Yuri, who grew tenser as Monika got closer.

"Oh, so you found something to read after all! How'd you get your hands on that?"

Yuri looked down at the datapad again, remembering where she left off. A story about an Orokin noble's encounter with a demon of the 'void'. "Natsuki had a little bit of money leftover from when she bought us all food, so s-she...insisted she didn't need it, and insisted I go use it to find a book."

She sounded distant again, as if she had a hard time remembering it all. She felt nervous, feeling as though Monika's green eyes were scanning her. "In the end, I managed to find a rather strange vendor selling all sorts of stories on these datapads, and I managed to buy a few." Monika grinned enthusiastically. Discussing reading with her seemed to be a good start.

"How's it been so far? I didn't think they'd have any good reading material here, to be honest..." Yuri nodded, sighing. "Most of it is rather...rudimentary, and the stories that are more elegant have cultural references I'm not familiar with...still, its been helpful with taking my mind off things...and the one I'm currently reading is interesting enough."

 Monika nodded and smiled meaningfully. "I'm glad you've found something to keep you occupied!"

Yuri began idly playing with her hair. Being alone with Monika was starting to ramp up her anxiety. What did she want? Why come to her now? "Y-yes...I am as well..." She avoided looking at Monika directly. 

Monika's smile lessened a bit. She should've remembered that Yuri wasn't going to be the best conversationalist. She'd have to be direct. "I just wanted to check up on you! A lots happened since we uh...left the club. I just wanted to be available to listen, so people aren't keeping things...bottled up, you know?"

Yuri nodded, but remained silent. Its true that a lot had been on her mind...Sayori's fate, Yuri's own downward spiral and demise, Natsuki's failed plea for help...all engineered and orchestrated by Monika.

On top of all that, she now had to deal with the reality that she wasn't...real. A program, a fictional character. And now they were here, in a strange world with stranger creatures fighting with actual weapons they barely understood. The thoughts began to multiply in Yuri's head. Too much, too intense. She couldn't find a way to express the amount of overwhelming dread she felt trying to parse everything, especially with the perpetrator staring at her. So she said the only thing she could to escape the situation.

Yuri finally looked back to Monika. "T-that's okay! I-I'm fine. Its nothing, really." She said meekly.

 

Monika felt frustration creeping up inside herself, but she nodded and smiled back at Yuri. "I understand! But in case you ever change your mind, I'm always willing to listen!"

And with that, Monika confidently strode out of the living quarters and left Yuri alone with her thoughts. She let out a long sigh, her anxiety fading to relief. She looked back at the datapad again, trying to pick up where she left off. The things that had been bothering her continued to linger. She barely got through the next paragraph before having to put the datapad down, staring again out the window. The thoughts began to swirl again as she peered out, slowly sending Yuri into another trance. She barely heard the door hiss open again. She didn't know how long she had been in that state. She turned, expecting to see Monika, but instead Natsuki was standing in the doorway. She seemed frustrated, pouting as she stepped inside the room.

 

"Did Monika try to get you to talk to her too?"

 

* * *

 

 _"Two down, one to go..."_  Monika thought. At this rate, though, Monika didn't have any reason to expect checking in on Sayori would go any better. After the door to the living quarters shut, she decided to check out the room to her right next. As it opened, she saw a pod-like machine sitting just in front of a ledge. Behind it were strange, white...Branches? Vines? Monika wasn't quite sure, but they sprouted up from the floor behind the machine and up into the ceiling and into the back of the pod. She couldn't help but feel calmer here, as if this place had some strange intrinsic calmness to it. It felt...safe, which made Monika feel suspicious. She stepped closer to investigate, the passive feeling of comfort growing as she approached the pod. A slight hum and hiss from the pod as the machinery inside whirred. Her hand pressed into the metal. "What is this supposed to do?" She wondered aloud. Something rustled behind Monika, who turned to see Sayori sitting against the back wall of the room, apparently waking from a nap. 

 

"Mm...Monika? Did you come to the weird tree room for a nap too?" Sayori gently rubbed her eyes as Monika came to sit next to her, still a little out of it. "No, not really. Just wanted to check in on everyone is all." Sayori grinned, clapping her hands together. "That's great! How did it go?" Monika sighed, staring at the floor. "Not great, honestly. Natsuki was angry with me, and Yuri insisted she was fine. I...didn't feel like I got anywhere. It was frustrating, and I understand why they would hate me...but..." Sayori nodded, gently patting Monika on the shoulder. "I don't think they hate you, Monika!" Monika turned and frowned at Sayori, caught between feeling surprised and distraught. "Sayori, I drove Yuri to stab herself. I deleted Natsuki without a second thought. I...HURT all of you out of desperation. How could someone NOT hate me after all the horrible things i did?"

 

Sayori shrugged. "I mean, yeah, you _did_ do some awful things. Yuri and Natsuki are both pretty mad at you right now for sure, You hurt them. I think it'll take them a while for them to forgive you...but I think they will."

Monika squinted, still not buying it. "What makes you so sure?"

Sayori met Monika's gaze with a genuine warmth that threw Monika off. "Well...because I did!"

Monika shook her head. "Why?" She couldn't get any other words out. She felt so many different feelings at once, most of them cynical.

"When I became the Club President...I got to see things like you did." Sayori pulled her knees up to her chest as she sat against the wall. It was something Sayori didn't like to think about.

"Everything felt...scary and far away. Stuff lost all its color. I suddenly felt really lonely...more lonely than I had ever felt before. I felt like crying, or screaming, but nothing came out." She smiled sadly.

"All I could do was grab onto Them. They seemed like the only real thing there, the only thing that could stop me from sinking...but before I could do something really bad, you stopped me."

 

She turned her gaze back to Monika again. "You hurt me, but you also did your best to save me. The other girls too. And I think...now that we're here with this second chance you gave us, knowing all of the scary things I do now, we can all get closer, and be even better friends!" She wrapped her arms around Monika. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Sayori in return. "I don't think the others feel the same way, but...Thank you, Sayori." Monika felt Sayori's hug get tighter. "You're welcome, Monika." 

 

 

* * *

 

 Natsuki stomped over to one of the beds in the living quarters, sitting down in a huff. "So? Did she come in here trying to be all 'Im just checking iiiiin!~ I wanna make sure all my club members are okaaaaaay!~' and crap like that?" Yuri set her datapad aside, unable to stop herself from giggling at Natsuki's impression of Monika. "She did _attempt_ to have a conversation with me, yes." Natsuki crossed her arms. "Of-freaking-course...who does she think she is, making us go on these stupid dangerous missions and boss us around. And for what? What are we even after?" Yuri's brow furrowed. The plan _did_ seem rather vague. "I...assume its an attempt to leave? To go home? As _interesting_ as this world has been, I don't think we can stay here..." Natsuki shook her head. "Why not? It's not like home was any safer for any of us..." Yuri smiled sadly. "...Or real, at any rate. I'm still trying to process that we're nothing but programs. None of this is real. So there isn't really a point in--"

 

Natsuki rose from the bed and over to Yuri, sitting next to her in the window, causing Yuri's train of thought to crash.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Yuri, hold on." And without warning, Natsuki poked Yuri's shoulder. Yuri made a small surprised yelp. Whatever she had expected, it clearly wasn't that.

"Did that feel real?" Yuri seemed baffled, unable to respond. The poke had pulled her from her existential spiral, at the very least.

"...Y-yes?" Natsuki nodded triumphantly. "Then you're real enough. I don't know much about all this reality stuff, but I'm...I'm here, right? I can feel, I can see, AND I can punch guys who pick on me REALLY hard without getting in trouble." Yuri giggled again as Natsuki looked out the window at earth. "I think we're better off here. These's Warframes or whatever aren't that bad."

Natsuki looked to the floor and her voice became a whisper. "I feel stronger in them." 

 

Yuri nodded, silent for a moment. "I-I...I suppose you're right in that regard...If this is where fate as taken us, then we might as well make the most of it..." Her expression shifted, looking somewhat troubled.

"But...something about my frame feels...nefarious." Natsuki tilted her head. "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?" Yuri shook her head.

"I'm...not sure. Its difficult to explain properly..." She fell silent again, searching for the proper words. "I feel like this...creature is attempting to act of its own accord. Sometimes, when I hesitate, it just...moves, unprompted. Almost on instinct."

She rubbed her arm. "There are other unpleasant factors at play as well, but...it moving on its own is what concerns me the most." Natsuki nodded, listening intently. "Well...mine felt fine. Maybe...yours just doesn't 'suit' you?" Yuri winced. _"Maybe it suits me too well..."_ She thought. "It stands to reason that may be the case...but what would I use in the meantime?"

 

Natsuki beamed. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can both find you a frame that works. I have to look for a new one too, since my Rhino is out of commission for a bit..." Yuri nodded, smiling. "I would appreciate that, Natsuki. You've been so kind to me since we arrived here..." Natsuki turned red. "W-well...yeah! I said I wanted to be better friends with you, so that's what I'm gonna do! Whether you like it or not!" 

 

* * *

 

 

At that moment, the Orbiters speakers came to life. "Attention Tenno Operators! I have finished synthesizing a workable clearance code from the key you provided me! We are now ready to embark for Mars! Please ensure all necessary armaments and equipment are properly secured and equipped!" 

 

And with that, the Operator Club began to head for the Armory to discuss the plan for their next mission.

 

 


	11. 3-10 to Doki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The club embarks on their assault on a massive Grineer train-tank in hopes of breaching the walls Lieutenant Lech Krils massive martian fortress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been. 4 months. Ish. Turns out being a full-time Janitor doesn't leave you with a lot of excess creative energy. BUT IM NOT DEAD. 
> 
> Another actiony chapter. Which means we all get to see how Actually Terrifying and Brutal warframe abilities actually are.

The girls once again filtered back into the Armory, all feeling slightly better after spending some time resting. Sudafet projected a map, and the ship speakers came to life. "The target we must track down today is Lieutenant Lech Kril. He is a high-ranking Grineer soldier who became renowned for his service as a war hero. He was given control of Mars by General Sargas Ruk after the Gradivus Dilemma--"

Natsuki yawned. "I get it, he's a badass. How do we get to him?"

The ships lights flickered as Sudafet skipped through her briefing to the plan of action. "On Mars, Grineer use massive, linked transports to carry ore to and from outposts and refineries. Our plan is to hijack one of these transports and use it to gain access to the fortress Lech Kril is currently occupying!" Sayori seemed confused. "So...if we steal the train...they're just gonna let us inside?"

The speakers on the ship crackled, and the image flickered. "That was humorous! No, Operator Sayori. There will be no doubt that once we secure the train, Lech Kril will be notified and seal the fort." Monika tilted her head. "So...why bother taking the train? Wouldn't it be easier to just sneak us to the fort?"

 

Sudafet flickered again. "Not possible, unfortunately. As we get closer to the fortress, the scans for incoming aircraft grow more and more frequent. I am unable to fully utilize your landing crafts stealth functions, so our next best option is to hijack the train. Each of these massive vehicles is heavily armored, manned by a full crew and barracks, and comes equipped with a large anti-air ballistic shell cannon! My hope is that this will be enough to destroy or weaken the fortress gate so that we may pass through relatively unharmed!"

Yuri's eyes darted between the projection and Monika. "S-surely there's a better solution than ramming a train through the front door?" Monika sighed, studying Sudafets diagram closely. "Doesn't seem like it. Are you sure that cannon will be enough to blast through the fortress door?" The projection shifted, and brought up the schematics for the train. The largest car out of the bunch lit up a bright green. "Absolutely! This weapon is designed to combat low-flying corvettes!"

Natsuki's eyes lit up. "Dibs on the big gun!"

 

After going over the plan again, the girls all began cycling through the Armory. Having learned how to utilize a Warframes power, they were all eager to change things up. Yuri went to choose hers first, Natsuki accompanying her.

"So...any of these guys look good to you? Excalibur, maybe? It says it has a sword...You like knives, right? A sword is just a big knife...so..." Yuri shook her head, smiling. She appreciated that Natsuki kept her interests in mind as she helped Yuri with choosing her new frame. "I was thinking of something less...aggressive. Something more subdued and elegant."

Natsuki squinted as she looked at the roster of wildly outlandish killing machines. "Elegant...right. Well...what about this guy?"

Natsuki selected the frame called 'Frost', and a new imposing figure stood in the armory. "It looks like he uses ice and stuff. Which seems kinda lame to me, but he might be what you're looking for." Yuri analyzed the motionless Frost. It was large and muscular, but its physique was draped in ornate robes. "This...might work!" Yuri gathered her confidence and transferred inside, the air growing colder around her as she brought it to life. It took her a second to adjust, but she steadied herself. [I uh...I think I'm ready.]

 

Natsuki had more of an idea of what she wanted. While Rhino was being repaired, she selected her new frame; Mag. She looked it over, frowning. She flipped through the appearance tab for a moment, and the Mags skin shimmered and became a much more pastel ensemble of pink and red. "Hmph. I guess this'll work..." It wasn't Rhino, but Natsuki could feel a new kind of strength as she joined the Mag. The ebb and flow the magnetic fields around her, tethered to her fingertips like string, waiting to be pulled in _just_ the right way.

['Kay guys, lets hurry and get this over with. Deserts suck, and I swear to god if I somehow get sand in here I'm gonna be pissed.] She stepped aside as Sayori stepped up the Arsenal, bobbing up and down in excitement. "I thought really really hard about who I wanted to be! So I want you all to meeeeet..." She typed away at the panel, and an Oberon appeared. "...Mister Deer!" Out of all the frames the girls had seen so far, Oberon appeared the most heroic. Its stance was gentle, but regal. A crown of horns adorned its head. "Sudafet says he's real good at fighting AND keeping you guys safe, so I thought I'd try him out!" She giddily merged into the empty frame. 

 

That just left Monika. Much like Sayori, she already had an idea of what she wanted to use on this mission. She flipped through the Arsenal, brought out the frame, and stepped in. [Whats that one called?] Natsuki peered around Yuri to get a better look at the frame. [Its called Nyx. It sorta fills the same roll my Vauban did.] 

Natsuki nodded. [Whats it do?]

Monika made a vague gesture with her hand, trying to describe Nyx's abilities as she saw them in the Arsenal. [She specializes in mind control.] 

[Mind Control? Are you SERIOUS?! I can't-- you know what? Forget it.] Monika and Sayori exchanged a glance as Natsuki stomped up to the nav room, Yuri following behind her. Sayori pressed her two pointer fingers together as Monika stood awkwardly at the Arsenal. [I guess it kinda is in poor taste...] Sayori half-whispered. Monika sighed as she and Sayori made their way up the the Nav room to prepare the landing craft.

 

* * *

 

 The flight down to Mars was quiet and awkward. It didn't take long for the swift Liset to catch up to the lumbering Grineer train. With a quick flip of a hatch, it deployed the four girls and sped back into Orbit, leaving them to their work. Monika cleared her throat and spoke up first. [So...I think I'm going to try taking the wheel. Yuri? Would you mind helping me out with that?] Yuri said nothing and nodded, her hands idly messing with one of the ribbons hanging from the Frosts robe. [Sayori, do you think you could take Natsuki with you to figure out the cannon?]

The Oberon gave Monika a big thumbs up and a cute little head tilt, as if it were winking. [You can count on me, Monika! Lets go, Natsuki! The big gun awaits us!] Natsuki began to follow Sayori, but stopped and turned to Yuri. [Keep an eye on her, okay?] Yuri nodded silently to Natsuki as the pair began to dash for the cannon car.

[Yuri, you ready?]

[Yes. Lets begin.]

They drew their weapons and dashed for the pilot car.

 

They made very little sound as they ran across the roof of the train, the loud engine and the roar of heavy tread on sand drowning out their Warframes soft footfalls. Monika swiftly hopped from the roof to the haphazard scaffolding between cars. Yuri, who on top of her natural lack of coordination no longer had her Ash's augmented agility to assist her, landed with a heavy thud. [Shit--!] Someone definitely heard that. Muffled chatter came from the door to the car in front of them, followed by footsteps. Quickly, Monika hoisted her clubmate up to her feet and held them beside the door. Yuri gripped her Skana tightly.

[I-I'm sorry! I should've landed that jump! We've all done this before and here I am, making these mistakes...Stupid, stupid--!]

The door flew open, and two guards shuffled out, grakata drawn as they scanned the area. They turned, spotting the two, but not before they were able to retaliate. Yuri threw several Kunai, which found purchase all over the bulky armored body of the first guard and sent him tumbling off the scaffolding into the treads below. The other froze, gun trained on the pair. A moment passed...then another, and the guard remained rigid. Yuri was about to speak up, but she noticed a faint aura glowing around the guard. The next thing she heard was Monika snapping her fingers, and the guard lowered its rifle. Strange text began to flow around its head as it began to sway. Monika focused for a moment, piercing into the guards mind, giving it an order.

{Distraction}

It processed its single-word order, nodded. "Moooohn...EEekah..." It stepped back into the train car. Yuri and Monika held their breath, waiting for something to happen. They could vaguely hear voices coming from behind the door.

[What did you do?]

[I...I told it to cause a distraction?] 

The sounds of a scuffle behind the door could heard, followed by gunfire. 

 [Uh-oh.]

 

* * *

 

 Natsuki and Sayori quickly made their way to the cannon car. It was easy to see, even with the trains bland, functional aesthetic. A massive, stitched-together Frankenstein tarp covering a large flatbed car.  The pair braced themselves as the train swerved, dodging a spire of stone in its path. The cannon itself was guarded by much sturdier-looking grineer troopers. Natsuki took a deep breath, flexing her fingers and testing her frames power.

[You ready to stomp these doofuses?]

[Yup!]

Natsuki clenched her fist, tearing it back as she tugged on magnetic fields like a ripcord. The grineer hurled haphazardly toward the girls, slamming against the round metal shell of the train car before bouncing off into the martian dust. Sayori, in tandem, struck a pose and pointed a fingergun at one of the stragglers, who exploded in a burst of radiant light. The trooper fell to the ground, small motes of light flittering from the hole in its chest in search of new targets.

[Ooof, that was so much more The remaining grineer scrambled for cover as the pair leaped onto the cannon car. Unfortunately for them, Natsuki and Sayori were far more coordinated. Sayori fired off another blast of radiant energy, as Natsuki pummeled the last guard. 

[Whoo! We did it! That was super easy, huh?]

[Yeah...these guys were total chumps. Lets hurry and get this piece of junk working!]

 A shrill alarm pierced through the noise of the rumbling train, speaker blaring with frantic grineer chatter.

[What the hell did Monika do?!]

[Waitwaitwait, how do you know it was Monikas fault?]

{I--she's just--she's the one who--! UGH, never mind! Just help me get this stupid tarp off the cannon.]

 Sayori quickly drew her skana and began to hack away at the straps holding the tarp in place. Bit by bit, pieces of the massive patchwork fabric began to blow up and off the machinery, swept by the air current. Natsuki felt a bullet zip just above her head as she knelt to a tarp buckle, and rolled to the side as grineer began to filter onto the cannon car from both sides. Dashing towards the growing crowd in front of her, Natsuki sprayed a soldier with buckshot, then smashed the butt of the guns stock into the second grineer's facemask with a grueling _THUNK_. The rest felt themselves forcibly yanked back into the car, falling onto and over themselves as the magnetic pull gripped their heavy metal armor. Before the squad could recover, the Mag charged each side of the split door, forcing it to close tight and damage the mechanism. 

[That should hold them off for a bit...]

Pivoting, Natsuki sprinted over to Sayori, who wasn't having as much luck.

 

* * *

 

 While they had a rocky start, it didn't take long for Monika to help Yuri refocus and move forward. As it turned out, what Frost lacked in agility it more than made up for in its ability to clear a room. Flashes of purple ice and green energy exploded through each car as they made their way through, alarms screeching as Yuri's Frost unleashed a wave of ice that cascaded through and flash-froze the soldiers as they ran. Monika sighed, silently. She'd make a remark on the situation, but knew that would jinx it and make everything worse.

The universe seemed to read Monika's mind as Sudafet chimed in. "Attention Tenno Operators! Grineer aircraft are approaching the train! Four Dargyn skiffs and one Bolkor heavy dropship incoming!" 

[Oh...we should hurry, shouldn't we?] Yuri murmured. Monika had tried to console her and explain it wasn't Yuri's fault, but Yuri didn't seem to accept it. 

[Yeah. The best thing we can do now is move forward with the plan, alarms or no. C'mon.]

A cascading wave of ice shot through and crumpled the door to the pilot car. A smaller, more important-looking grineer hid behind his two much more burly guards, terrified. "T-Tennoskoom! Stayht Ban! Nogklohsar!" 

Monika snapped her fingers and one of the guards went rigid, straining against the psionic corruption of the Nyx. The Conductor began to wheeze and panic as one of his guards drove a fist straight into the face of the other, splintering its mask and cutting into its face beneath with the shards. The guard managed to fire off a slug from its hefty shotgun before being tackled to the floor, its hypnotized counterpart continuing to punch away. Now it was Yuri's turn. She slowly approached the conductor, extending a hand as he stumbled backwards and fell over. Backing up against the console, his wheezing grew more labored as Yuri's hand gently touched his shoulder and froze him solid. 

[Glad to see you still have a flair for the dramatic, Yuri.] 

[O-oh...that was-- I just-- I just didn't want to risk breaking the console is all...]

[Aww, Yuri I'm just teasing you. You did good.]

Monika's 'assistant' had finished pulverizing its comrade, and was now standing at attention, awaiting new orders. 

{Guard.}

It nodded and positioned itself in front of the pilot car entryway. Monika began fiddling with the trains navigation, and felt the hulking metal beast lurch as it changed course. 

[Now to get us back on track.]

 

* * *

 

[STUPID--GHH] Natsuki delivered a frustrated kick to the cannons terminal. The dynamic duo had managed to repel the trains initial garrison, but now they had no idea how to get the cannon up and running, and the Grineer aircraft were approaching fast. Natsuki pouted and looked over the console again, trying to decipher its cluttered display. 

[Maybe you could--]

[I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! You just need to--] Natsuki's fingers forcefully pressed at random terminal prompts, hoping to get something working. The pistons and gear mechanisms churned as random commands were being entered, cancelled, and changed all at once. The roaring engines of a Bolkor drop ship grow closer. Natsukis frantic button mashing grew more intense, until finally what could pass as a chair with several joysticks popped out from the cannons side. 

[There! You see? A pro at work.]

Sayori scratched her head. [Don't you think we should stop the train before we start using that thing?]

[We don't have time--]

The Bolkor screamed overhead, flanked by several small skiffs. The loading bay of the bolkor opened and delivered its squadron as the Dargyns circled around and opened fire on the pair. 

[ShitshitshitshitSHIT--] Natsuki's first instinct was to launch herself at Sayori, knocking the two just out of the way of the bombardment as the skiffs sailed overhead. Natsuki realized she was holding Sayori a bit too tightly. 

[Awww, Natsuki! You really care about me, huh?~] 

[Wh-- Its not-- Shut up! I couldn't just let you stand there like a doofus and get riddled with bullets. Are you really gonna get all sappy on me now? Here?] The two got to there feet as the Dargyn circled around for another run. 

[Try to deal with them while I try to shoot this thing, okay?] 

Sayori nodded and gave a thumbs up, and scanned the cannon platform. Grineer weapons and munitions were scattered all over from the initial fight, most of them seeming more suited for close quarters, save for a single scoped rifle almost completely hidden under the body of a grineer Ballista. Sayori quickly lifted the small sniper unit off of its hard-earned rifle and pivoted, swiftly aiming down its scope as the Dargyn closed in.

[Okay...just gotta...not...miss.]

Natsuki heard the crack of the rifle as she settled into the gunner chair, aiming down its obtuse scope. She didn't turn to see, but as she peered into the cannons obtuse and awkward scope she managed to hear the sound of something heavy impact the ground near them and explode. Natsuki saw what had to have been Lech Krils fortress looming over the horizon; the wreckage of a massive ship, with a heavy slab of metal functioning as a gate. 

[Nice job hiding in the biggest pile-of-junk target ever, idiot...]

Natsuki centered the crosshairs on the forts heavy gate and squeezed the trigger, and the entire train shook.

 

* * *

 

 Heavy thumps of hard boots hitting the ceiling of the pilot car as the grineer reinforcements deployed, then silence. Yuri and Monika managed to share a glance before a fiery explosion ruptured the roof, just above Monika's entranced guard and knocking the two off balance. One by one the dropped in, distinguished in a proud patchwork of custom armor and weapons, which were pointed straight at the two girls. The last to drop in had a more compact form, starkly at odds with the rest of her more bulky, haphazardly built crew. With a grand flourish, she addressed the two in English with a sneer.

 "Tennoskoom! You are not much for talk, so I shall keep this simple; I am captain Krell Jag. You have taken Grineer property and lives. It would be my pleasure to show you how big of a mistake that was." Two rather ornate daggers eject from her cybernetic wrists. She briefly eyed the Frames over a few times. "Eenie...meenie...minie..." She pointed a dagger at the Nyx. "Mo." The grineer all switched to target Monika and fired.

[WAIT--] Yuri clumsily dashed in front of Monika, spreading her arms out to block the firing squad. Flurries of frosty air swirled around the pair, forming a protective bubble as bullets ricocheted and pinged off the void-infused ice. She didn't know what she was doing, much less why she was doing it. Monika was just as surprised as Yuri.

"Tch, typical Tenno parlor trick." Krell motioned to one of her larger squadmates. "Jol, Meht Deice."  The beast of a Grineer grunted as it lumbered to the snow globe, carrying a flamethrower. Yuri's vision was engulfed in a haze of greasy diesel-orange flame, extreme temperatures overtaking the pilot car. The ice Yuri summoned held for a moment, but cracks began to creep along its surface, showing signs of give. Yuri began to panic, fingers fidgeting nervously as her defensive bubble began to fall apart. 

[W-what do we do?!] 

Monika gently placed an arm on the Frosts shoulder. [I have an idea. Get behind me.]

Yuri wanted to ask, but remained silent and did as she was asked. Monika focused, psychic energy building in the conduits of her frame as their shelter began to collapse. Heat and flame began to seep in through the cracks, weakening it further until finally the void-ice shattered, engulfing them in a gout of fire. Monika put her plan into action as the jet of fire and smoke was accompanied by a maelstrom of grineer lead. Krell inspected the nails on her one non-cybernetic hand and threw a glance over in the direction of the tenno, catching shimmers of green energy within the burning smog. 

"WAIT! CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE YOU IDIOTS--"

As soon as the shooting stopped and the smoke cleared, the grineer were greeted by a glowing sphere of void energy, Monika and Yuri safely contained within. The kinetic energy from each and every bullet impact absorbed and converted into a megaton bomb of psionic power. Shakily, Monika outstretched her arms and unleashed it in a violent flash before falling to the ground, drained. The weaker-willed of Krells crew died instantly, collapsing on the spot, while the others remained barely lucid, save for Krell herself. She spat transfused blood, leaking from somewhere inside her withered organs and implants. She drew her daggers, glare . 

"This isn't my first time going toe-to-toe with freaks, Tenno. You have run out of walls to hide behind." With lightning speed, she lunged for Monika.

 

* * *

 

Sayori had run out of rifle ammo trying to take out the remaining Dargyns, and was frantically pacing back and forth looking for something else to use. 

[N-Natsuki! I'm--I don't know what else I can do!]

She was drowned out by the massive _THOOM_ of the artillery cannon.

[WHAT?]

[I SAID I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE I CAN DO!]

[CAN YOU USE YOUR....SPACE MAGIC?!]

[I CAN'T...REACH?]

[JUST TRY HARDER! I NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME.]

The dropship had begun hazing the cannon car as well, opening up with a volley from its minigun along the floor as Sayori danced around the stream of bullets. She tried to get a bead on any sort of weakness, any sort of tell that could show her how to punch through the ships armor. Its twin engines shifted as it prepared for another pass on the cannon car. Maybe she could break one of them?

[Here goes nothing...]

Arm outstretched, Sayori felt the void rush through her Oberons arm as the Bolkors engines screamed. She felt a stretching sensation somewhere inside her as she struggled to cast her ability.

[Cmooon...] 

The ships minigun rattled off another barrage of crude Grineer munitions as it flew closer, but Sayori stood her ground, concentrating. She _needed_ to pull through, her friends were counting on her. She heard Natsuki shout, but was too focused to process it. 

[Cmoooon!]

One of the high-caliber rounds punctured the Oberons leg, but Sayori managed to unleash a small burst burst of radiant energy inside the Bolkors engine. The initial blast was followed with a heavier explosion, followed by sputtering and groaning as angry projectiles of trapped void energy peppered and bored through the engines innards before finally exploding. Veering wildly, the Bolkor desperately tried to maintain its course as more of its vital parts started to break down. 

[YES! I did it!]

Whether it was intentional or not, the Bolkor began to veer closer towards the cannon, with Natsuki still being focused in on aiming her last shot. Sayori managed to cry out, snapping natsuki out of it, but it was too late. The dropship collided with the cannon, crushing it and detonating the remainder of its artillery shells, launching Natsuki across the platform as the cannon crumpled into a twisted metal heap. Sayori couldn't form words, instead rushing over to Natsuki's side.

[Natuski?! Oh god Natsuki are you okay?!] She picked up and held the mag in her frames arms. Covered in scrapes and burn marks, the swirling vortex in the frames helmet seemed dimmer. Panicking, Sayori desperately willed her Oberon to do something. _Anything._ With a mornful, audible cry, the Oberon emitted a wave of soft blue energy, and she felt the wound in her leg slowly seal up and heal, as well as the wounds on the Mag begin to regenerate.

[ugh...] Natsuki mumbled. [You really are clumsy, huh?] Natsuki dizzily met the gaze of one very relieved Sayori. A Sayori who practically crushed her with an intense hug.

[Thank goodness...I was so worried, Natsuki! I'm so sorry!  I didn't mean to drop a space ship on you!]

[Thats...great...Sayori...but I think you're re-crushing my bones...] 

[Oh! I'm sorry!] Sayoris arms released Natsuki, and she dizzily felt back into Sayori's lap. 

[Are you okay? I swear I didn't mean for that to happen!]  

[Sayori, Chill out! I accept your apology. You even patched me up, so we're square, okay? Jeez...] Natsuki tried to play off how flustered she truly was. Thank god these things didn't have any sort of facial expression. [But now...] Slowly getting to her feet, Natsuki began to take in the wreckage of the cannon. [How the hell are we supposed to bust into the fort? The guns wrecked!]

Sayori rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. She didn't know what to do, and if they didn't pull something together quick, she'd let Monika down.

[Maybe Monika will know what to do? I can't really think of anything else we can do here...]

Natsuki crossed her arms. The LAST thing she wanted to do was to rely on Monika to get them out of this mess...but taking a look around, there wasn't a lot else left. She kicked a piece of broken metal and threw her hands up. 

[Uugh...FINE, I guess we don't have a choice...lets go.]

 

* * *

 

Yuri and Monika were faring just as well as Natsuki and Sayori were. Krell was much faster and angrier than the other two. Monika, who was far more adept at combat but exhausted after channeling her psychic barrage, couldn't keep up with the Grineer captains flurry of vicious blows. Yuri on the other hand was without the innate reflexes of her Ash was much less dexterous, but her Frosts ultra-cold tough skin meant Krell had a harder time striking effectively, even with her special daggers. Nevertheless, she handled the two with ease, ducking and weaving between Yuri's throwing knives and charging down Monika with her hellion thruster pack before she had the chance to recover and hit her with another psychic blast.

"You tenno aren't so tough when you have your tricks figured out..." A swift kick to Yuri's core caused her to stumble backward. Yuri clenched her fist and struck the floor, creating a cascading wave of icy spikes. Krell smirked. She'd seen that trick before. A deft roll and the wave of ice crashed into the pilot cars wall, tearing it open before melting. Another boost, and drove her piercing daggers into the frosts shoulders. 

[Ghh--!!] Yuri felt the Frosts muscles tense involuntarily, daggers striking pressure points. Krell grinned, ripping the daggers back out as the Frosts blood spattered the floor, freezing the instant it touched the ground. 

"See? Even Tenno-Demons bleed..." A quick glance to the left and Krell stepped back, dodging a flurry of shrapnel from Monika. She was about to make a snide remark, but Yuri followed up with a blast of ice from her fist. Krell dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding it. 

[You okay, Yuri?]

[It...hurts a bit] Yuri replied, teeth clenched inside the void. [But I can manage. Thank you.] The sound of Krells jets brought Yuri back into focus, managing to catch the captains punch just before it struck Yuri's helmet. She struggled against the force of the thruster, before finally sidestepping and letting Krell launch past her. 

[S-She's so vicious! I can't hold her still!]

Monika studied the thruster pack as Krell continued to attack Yuri. It didn't seem like it could take much punishment, and like most Grineer equipment it was volatile and haphazard. It was also Krells primary advantage over the slow Frost and tired Nyx.

[The pack.]

[What?] Yuri dodged another flurry of stabs.

[Freeze the thruster pack. It should slow her down.]

Yuri took a deep breath, the frosts cold blood evaporating into mist as it dripped down the grooves and edges of its armor in the martian heat.

[Okay.]

She launched a blast of ice, goading krell into another attack. "Missed~" Thrusters screamed as Krell closed the gap. Like before, Yuri caught Krell by the hand, sidestepping and slapping the other down on her pack, freezing it solid. Using the momentum, Yuri pivoted and threw Krell over to Monika. Stunned, Krell barely had time to react to the Nyx, or the Skana she was brandishing. With a swift, precise motion, Monika drove the blade into the captains midsection. Krell gasped, but no words came out. Pushing her back, Krell slipped off the blade and collapsed to the floor. 

Monika and Yuri both sighed as Krell lay there, struggling to pick herself up, but not making any progress. Krell finally gave up and collapsed, breathing ragged. "You...hh...Tenno-skoom...hh...Should have died here. Kril...He is so much worse..." She was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. 

[Who could that be?]  

The soft pounding was followed by three very heavy, very frustrated pounds. 

[I've got an idea.] 

The doors groaned before being magnetically torn from its mechanisms by Natsuki, each slab of metal tipping and falling onto an unconscious member of Krells squad. [We've got some problems Monika. The...uhm...] Natsuki locked 'eyes' with Yuri, still bleeding from her fight with Krell. [What happened to you?] 

Yuri nervously began to try to hide her wounds. [I-its fine! We just...had a bit of a scuffle in here. But we took care of it! See?] Krell coughed. Natsuki rushed over and inspected the wounds Yuri's frost sustained. [That doesn't _look_ like a 'little scuffle'.]

[It...uh...it was tough, and I might have gotten a bit hurt, but...I'm fine!] 

Natsuki crossed her arms, and Yuri could tell she was frowning. What she couldn't tell was what kind of frown it was.

Sayori skipped over to the rest of the group, clapping her hands with vibrant enthusiasm, ignoring the captain on the floor. [Oh! I can fix this! Everyone, watch what I learned to do with mister deer!] Sayori posed, and the healing aura once again spread from the Oberon, repeating the healing process and sealing the wounds Krell had inflicted.

Monika remained quiet. These two were supposed to be working on another job. [Did you two...finish using the cannon?]

Sayori's stance shifted fro her triumphant pose as she pressed her pointer fingers together. [I mean...teeeechnically, yes...]

Natsuki snorted. [That moron driving the dropship crashed into it.] None of them noticed Krell slowly crawling over the gap in the wall, edging closer until she managed to drag herself out and off of the train, into the swirling sand below.

Sayori silently thanked Natsuki for sparing her from having to explain how she sent a hunk of flying metal smack dab into the middle of their plan. Monika trained her eyes over the horizon, Looking at the battered gates of the fortress.

[I think we still have one more shot.]

[Huh? Whatdya mean, Monika?] 

Monika tapped a few buttons on the console and pushed the throttle up to its max, and the club felt the train lurch as it sped up. Natsuki, who was busy trying to wipe away the dried Frost blood from the armor of Yuri's Frame, turned to Monika.

[What the HELL are you doing?!]

[You and Sayori hit the gate hard enough that we can just ram it with the train now. All we have to do is just hop off and it'll clear the way for us.]

[Are you CRAZY?!]

[Do you have any other ideas?]

[Wh-- I-- NO...I don't.]

Crossing her arms and sulking, Natsuki admitted defeat. Yuri wasn't convinced.

[Crashing a train of this size at such speed is incredibly dangerous. Can you assure we'd be safe from the crash?] Monika nodded, keeping an eye on how fast the gate was approaching.

[Between all of us, and all the powers at our disposal, I think we'll be fine. Now lets go.] 

Yuri began to play with the tassels of her robe again, still not sure of the plan. Natsuki placed a hand on her shoulder as the two waited by the hole in the side of the car. [We're gonna kick this idiots ass!] Yuri chuckled, softly. even though they were about to crash a massive hunk of metal into an even more massive death fort, lorded over by a grineer warmonger, Natsuki still managed to ease her anxieties. Sayori seemed giddy to leave the train, and Monika quickly followed up behind her. The four stood poised and ready to leap at Monikas word.

[Everyone ready?]

[Yup!]

[I guess.]

[I suppose...]

[Alright. Everyone, JUMP.]

They heard the massive, deafening crash of metal on metal as they hit the ground, explosions and falling debris showering them as the train rammed through the gate and into the fortress proper. Yuri projected her snowglobe, protecting them from most of the shrapnel and sparks. Natsuki held onto Yuri and held her eyes shut as chunks of train came down around them, while Sayori and Monika stood at the ready to assist as necessary. Finally, the onslaught of metal and fire stopped, and whatever speakers of the main gates intercom system remained crackled to life. 

 

 _ **"ATTENTION TENNO VANDALS..."**_ A raspy voice dripping with malice cut through the static. ** _"YOUR TRESPASS INTO MY HUMBLE DOMAIN SHALL BE PUNISHED. LIEUTENANT LECH KRIL, HERO OF THE MARTIAN FRONT, SHALL JUDGE YOU."_**

Natsuki opened here 'eyes' and noticed her clinging to Yuri. She jumped back, attempting to act tough, and not like like she had been wrapped around Yuri's frost. She put her hands on her hips and smirked.

[Heh, this guy sounds like a total edgelord.]

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda took some liberties with some minor WF background canon as far as Lech Krils relation to Ruk goes, but hopefully that doesn't bother anyone!


End file.
